The Xi'an H-6 is China's license-built Tu-16-derived strategic bomber family, produced by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation and still in PLA service. Later H-6 variants added maritime-strike, tanker, and cruise-missile roles, and Iraqi H-6Ds armed with C-601 missiles were used in the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq War.
Iraqi Air Force H-6D bombers armed with C-601 anti-ship missiles were used during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq War.
Timeline
The first Chinese-built Tu-16 completed its maiden flight on 27 September 1959, starting the line that became the H-6.
The first fully domestically produced H-6 flew in 1968, marking China's move from license assembly to local production.
During the Tanker War, Iraqi H-6D bombers launched C-601 anti-ship missiles and hit a tanker in the first documented attack of that campaign.
