According to a recent study published in the Chinese Communist Party’s “Modern Defense Technology” journal, a team led by Wang Bingqie from the Air Force Early Warning Academy points out that the US Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber is considered the biggest nuclear threat to China due to its long-range strike capabilities and ability to carry nuclear weapons, surpassing the stealth F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
This “military chess simulation” study simulated the US military’s “penetrating anti-aircraft operations” targeting the Chinese Navy fleet or inland targets. The results showed that the B-52 could launch AGM-86B cruise missiles from secure bases such as Guam or Diego Garcia, bypassing air defense systems to strike at China’s aircraft carrier battle groups and naval formations, or key facilities such as command centers and missile launch silos inland, posing a threat to China’s designed “second nuclear retaliation” strategy.
The research results deepen Beijing’s anxiety over the continuous enhancement of American power projection in the Indo-Pacific region. The focus on the B-52 strategic bomber also reflects China’s concerns about the vulnerability of its own defense system. Despite China’s ongoing investments in long-range air defense missiles like the HQ-9 and the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems, the US military’s “Cold War veteran” B-52’s ability to launch long-range cruise missiles and its 70,000-pound (about 3.2-ton) bomb capacity make it difficult to intercept.
The B-52 Stratofortress bomber has a range of over 8,800 miles (about 14,200 kilometers) and is equipped with precision-guided weapons like Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), possessing the capability to carry out both nuclear and non-nuclear strike missions.
Recently, the B-52 has also participated in freedom of navigation missions in the South China Sea, demonstrating America’s commitment to allies like Japan and the Philippines. The US Air Force plans to ensure the B-52’s service until 2050 by upgrading the Rolls-Royce F130 engines.
In comparison, the operational radius of the F-22 is only 600 miles (about 966 kilometers) and cannot carry nuclear weapons; while the F-35 can carry B61-12 nuclear bombs, its range and payload capacity are relatively limited, relying on vulnerable forward bases.
An article in “International Security” in 2023 pointed out that China’s relatively smaller nuclear arsenal emphasizes ensuring a second nuclear strike strategy, but the long-range strike capability of the B-52 poses a serious threat to this strategy. It can destroy all key facilities before Beijing has a chance to respond.
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