Rumours that a new long-range stealth bomber, the Xian H-20, would soon be joining China 's air force have been swirling in defence circles since the early 2010s.

And now, observers say the Xian H-20 could make its first public appearance at this year's Zhuhai Airshow in November, as long as the Covid-19 pandemic remains contained.

The Xi'an Aviation Industrial Corporation went so far as to release a promotional video in May 2018 that parodied Northrop Grumman's own Superbowl ad for the B-21 Raider. The H-20 is rumoured to be similar in size and general layout to the B-21, but there are no confirmed images of the nuclear-capable aircraft.

The H-20 reportedly has four non-afterburning WS-10A Taihang turbofan engines sunk into the top of the wing surface with inlets that are in an S-shaped saw-toothed configuration to minimise radar visibility.