According to the United States Department of Defense, this will give the PLAAF a long-range standoff offensive air capability with precision-guided munitions.

Having completed renovations of the Xi'an factory by 1958, production of the H-6 began in earnest with the first fully domestically produced H-6 bomber making its first flight on 24 December 1968, flown by Li Yuanyi and Xu Wenhong.

[7] The establishment of China's H-6 production system experienced significant delays and a loss of schematics during the chaos of the Cultural Revolution.

[8] On 13 July 2017, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) scrambled jets from Okinawa, intercepted, and photographed six Chinese H-6K bombers conducting long-range drills over the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait through the Taiwanese, East China Sea, and Japanese Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ).

A PLA spokesperson told Chinese news service CGTN that the aircraft were "testing actual battle capabilities over the sea" as part of "routine exercises."

[11][12] Similarly, on 25 May 2018, the JASDF joined F-16 fighter jets of Taiwanese Air Force in intercepting and photographing two H-6K bombers looping around the Taiwan Island through the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait.

[13] In summer 2021, the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed through international waters in the South China Sea, demonstrating freedom of navigation to challenge Chinese territorial claims.

Chinese warnings against the act[14][15] included China Central Television (CCTV) footage of an H-6 armed with YJ-12 anti-ship cruise missiles.

[23][24][25] In the PLAAF, H-6 aircrews (机组; jīzǔ) consist of four personnel: the pilot in command (驾驶; jiàshǐ or 机长) who sits in the left pilot seat, the co-pilot (副驾驶; fù jiàshǐ) who sits to their right, an electronic warfare and communications officer (通信官; tōngxìn guān), and a navigator (领航; lǐngháng) bombardier (轰炸官; hōngzhà guān) who may also be referred to as a weapons control technician (武控师; wǔ kòng shī).

[30][31] With a reinforced structure making use of composite materials,[31] enlarged engine inlets for Russian Soloviev D-30 turbofan engines giving a claimed combat radius of 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi),[30] a glass cockpit with large size LCD multi-function display,[32] and a reworked nose section eliminating the glazed navigator's station in favor of a more powerful radar, the H-6K is a significantly more modern aircraft than earlier versions.

[42] Defense Intelligence Agency chief Ashley confirmed that China is developing two new air-launched ballistic missiles, (CH-AS-X-13)[43] one of which can carry a nuclear warhead.

Chinese media claimed it could be used for wiping out reinforced buildings and shelters as well as clearing obstacles to create an aircraft landing zone.

In October 2022, Chinese media showcased the prospective concepts of H-6K carrying LJ-1 unmanned aerial system conducting drone swarm tactics.

LJ-1 was originally designed as a target practice drone with a modular payload, which could be modified into a decoy or electronic warfare platform.