B-20 Gaonmir

The Jinmu Heavy Industries B-20 Gaonmir is a Zhenian strategic heavy bomber developed and built by Jinmu Heavy Industries, capable of being virtually undetected by enemy radars due to its capabilities. As a stealth bomber, it is capable of carrying an array of close-range and standoff air-to-surface weapons, both conventional and, all while maintaining its stealthy configuration. It remains one of the most predominant strategic strike assets of the Republic of Zhenia Air Force to this day, although it is set to be complemented by the development of the B-25 Dhemir in the 1620s.

Originally developed to supersede existing B-60 and B-70 bombers that were introduced to the Republic of Zhenia Air Force,

Development
Shortly after the November Revolution, the Republic of Zhenia Defense Forces Strategic Command announced plans to ultimately supersede the aging subsonic B-60 Azure Dragon bombers and some of the existing Mach 3-capable B-70 Iron Dragon bombers at service within the Republic of Zhenia Air Force. In response to such intent, the Department of Defense introduced the Next-Generation Strategic Strike Platform program and evaluated numerous design proposals across the, demanding at least 10,000 kilometers of ferry range without refueling and at least 20 metric tons of ordnance, as well as the capability to deploy. Among numerous designs that were considered at the time, two proposals - a subsonic, low-observable design developed by Jinmu Heavy Industries, and a supersonic, reduced-observability design from the Hanshin-Paragon consortium - emerged as final contenders. Although revisions in the new bomber's requirements included capacity for long-range naval warfare and thereby made the competition somewhat more advantageous for supersonic contenders, the RZAF valued survivability in contested environments over speed, resulting in Jinmu Heavy Industry's subsonic, but stealthy design ultimately being awarded the contract on October 6, 1571.

For most of its course of development, the details regarding the B-20 Gaonmir, beyond the fact that it existed, was a closely-guarded secret, with not much beyond the fact of its existence was known beyond the upper echelons of the project itself. While there already had been word early on it being a triangular, blended wing body design, further details remained unknown to the public until its first flight was made in 1582. The following four years consisted of rigorous testing, ranging from its radar evasion capabilities to its capacity to fly over 10,000 kilometers without refueling and still carry out air strikes, during which improvements and flaw corrections on the airframe were made. Towards the end of its testing phase, in December 1586, it received the designation 'B-20 Gaonmir', referring to the deity overseeing the future in Zhenian Wuism. The first unit was ultimately introduced into RZAF service on May 17, 1587, after which a total of 84 aircraft, 4 of which were prototypes and testing platforms, were built.

The B-20 Gaonmir was originally poised to become the numerical core of Zhenia's strategic air wing, with plans to produce over 140 of such bombers and replace all existing bombers in service. Changing geopolitical circumstances in the early 1590s have resulted in the aircraft's procurement plan being axed significantly in 1595, from a plan of 140 aircraft by 1615 to just 88 by the same year. Revisions in the bomber's procurement plan was met with great criticism within the Republic of Zhenia Air Force, with Air Force generals claiming the axing to be a "huge leap backwards in Zhenia's own strategic arm of diplomacy". While there have been attempts to increase the procurement between pre-1595 levels and the current 88, all have failed to pass the Parliament, with the final 88th airframe expected to be delivered to the RZAF in 1612.

A series of improvements were made following its introduction into service, in order to reflect changing battlefield paradigms in the 17th century AC. A series of upgrades in software integration and processing have allowed for a larger diversity of munitions that can be used on the B-20, while a newly-installed network allowed for weight adjustments that could be used to improve the integrity of the airframe. The (EOTS), a series of next-generation integrated targeting pods that had already been introduced throughout the ZF-21 Dragon line, as well as an electro-optical  (EO-DAS), were implemented into the aircraft in the late 1590s and early 1600s, allowing for further battlefield coverage in all directions.

Armaments, equipment and countermeasures
Initially designed with deep-penetrating nuclear strike missions in highly contested airspace in mind, the B-20 Gaonmir makes great use of its low-observability stealth capabilities to maximize its survivability and lethality in carrying out such missions. It is the second Zhenian bomber aircraft that primarily uses internal weapon bays for the sole purpose of reducing its, after the B-70 Iron Dragon, with reduction of radar signature explicitly in mind regarding the construction of the weapon bay. Capable of holding almost 44,000 lbs (20,000 kg) of ordnance within its internal bays, it can carry an array of both nuclear and conventional weapons, ranging from and  to the. The integration of in recent years has decreased the probability of interception of the aircraft, while also adding more options to its armament. The aircraft has not been designed to carry weapons externally, reflecting the aircraft's stealthy design philosophy.

Avionics and systems
An array of sensors augment the B-20's situation recognition capabilities and eventually survivability, even in conventional warfare missions. The AN/APG-300B, an all-weather system that includes a and  guidance among other systems, allow for recognition of targets from considerable distances and carry out strikes in various altitudes. The Electro-Optical Targeting System, a next-generation integrated targeting pod, allows for the guidance of precision-guided munitions even in electronically contested airspace where GPS signals are jammed. The electro-optical Distributed Aperture System (EO-DAS), included among the newer upgrades in the 17th century with the introduction of the B-20B, allows for 360-degree, all-direction coverage of threats around the aircraft as well as long-range passive target detection in tandem with the AN/APG-300B system. All such avionics are controlled by resistant central computer systems, evident that the aircraft was designed with nuclear strike capabilities in mind.

Stealth
has been one of the highest priorities in the B-20's design, with explicit design goals of minimizing the aircraft's detection to "potential adversaries in deep penetration missions". As a result, the aircraft has a (RCS) of around 0.08 m2 - comparable to a bird in flight - as well as significantly lower infrared, acoustic and visual signatures compared to other aircraft of its size, allowing it to evade several detection systems found in air defense systems. The aircraft itself is stealthy except briefly when the bomb bay doors open, which only marginally increases the aircraft's radar cross section. The B-20 is intentionally a flying wing configuration at an attempt to not only increase low-speed flight stability but also to further reduce radar cross-section, eliminating the need for vertical stabilizers that ultimately increase the variables for RCS reduction. (RAM), mostly based on, has also been extensively used throughout the airframe, further reducing radar wave reflection.

In addition to radar stealth, the B-20 Gaonmir also has characteristics to maximize infrared stealth. Although perfect infrared stealth has been proven impossible throughout all forms of stealth aircraft, the B-20 has attempted to minimize the aircraft's infrared signature while in flight. Its engines have been buried deep within the flying wing fuselage, minimizing the chances of the engine specially appearing clearly on thermal devices. The of the engine intake has been designed to let in cool air into the fuselage, reducing the release of thermal energy from the exhaust. With the reduction of thermal signature in mind, the B-20 Gaonmir in particular lacks any afterburners, as the usage of afterburners and supersonic flight would inevitably and significantly increase the aircraft's heat signature and its chance of detection.

B-20K
The B-20K is a further upgrade from the B-20B proposed by Jinmu Heavy Industries that includes a series of additional upgrades to improve the aircraft's overall effectiveness in contested future combat situations. The most notable upgrade in the aircraft includes air-to-air capability: while all variants of the B-20A could nominally carry missiles on its own, the B-20K is expected to be the first in its class to directly engage in air-to-air warfare; in order to achieve this, the AN/APG-300 radar has been considerably modified to be used in air-to-air missions as well.

Operators

 * Republic of Zhenia Air Force: The sole operator of the B-20 Gaonmir, with a total of 96 airframes within its roster.