Shalung Aeroworks H-30 "Gyrfalcon"
| H-30 "Gyrfalcon" | |
|---|---|
| |
| H-30 "Gyrfalcon" in flight trials at Chengzen Air Force Base, 2029 | |
| Role | Stealth strategic bomber |
| National origin | Jin Yi |
| Manufacturer | Shalung Aeroworks |
| First flight | 8 June, 2028 |
| Introduction | 12 January, 2030 |
| Status | In Production |
| Primary user | Eternal Air Force |
| Produced | 2029 - Present |
| Number built | 52 |
| Developed from | Shalung Aeroworks H-10 |
The Shalung Aeroworks H-30 "Gyrfalcon" is an Jin strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying wing with a crew of three, the plane was designed by Shalung Aeroworks from 2020 to 2028, with the initial production prototype flying in mid 2028. Production was fully approved in 2029. The H-30 is designed to drop conventional and thermonuclear weapons such as up to eighty 500-pound class guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound N-38 nuclear bombs. The H-30 can also carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
Development began under the Decades Ahead Bomber Initiative project under the orders of Divine Emperor Taizou as one of his first acts after taking the throne. Subsequent developmental snags drove up the cost and ultimately, the program has produced only 52 units in total at a cost of $930 million each, including development, engineering, testing, production, and procurement. Building each aircraft cost an average of $450 million while total procurement costs averaged $480 million each. As a result, production orders have been slow and only five squadrons of the Divine Air Force have so far beeen assigned units.
The H-30 can perform attack missions at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet it has a range of more than 8,500 nautical miles and can fly more than 11,000 nautical miles with one midair refueling. It is the third stealth project to reach production out of the Shalung Rogue Works facility, which is dedicated to the development and fielding of aircraft with advanced technologies. As of 2034, 52 aircraft have been produced out of the 60 aircraft ordered. The Air Force Procurement Board has stated that further orders have been foregone due to the operational expense of each squadron in favor of modernizations to the H-990 platform.
Design and development
Production and assembly
Program costs
Maintenance, sustainment, and operation
Flight and testing
Specifications
General characteristics
- Capacity: 40,000 lb (18,000 kg) weapon load
- Length: 65 ft (20 m)
- Wingspan: 156 ft (48 m)
- Empty weight: 130,000 lb (58,967 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 350,000 lb (158,757 kg)
- Powerplant: 3 × Goshi Propulsion Systems TF40 "Rabbit" non-afterburning turbofans, 32,000 lbf (140 kN) thrust each
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 0.8+
- Provided specifications are estimations based on press releases.