Chinese Missiles News & Discussions

[juj06750]

A couple of days ago Xinhua News posted a video about Russia successfully test-fires Tsirkon hypersonic missile (2020.10.06).

"Russia successfully test-fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile in the Arctic on Tuesday. The missile reached a hypersonic speed of over Mach 8. The missile covered a distance of 450 km with the max altitude of its trajectory at 28 km. The flight lasted 4.5 minutes at over Mach 8. The Tsirkon system will be deployed on Russian submarines and surface ships."

I wonder how is China's own hypersonic missile(s) positioning with regard to this Russian high-profile one?

Then where is the USA's position in this basically three-party hypersonic race (besides some other lesser participants)?

my comrade, this is chinese missile thread;
plz write them on russian forum

 

[samsara]

my comrade, this is chinese missile thread;
plz write them on russian forum

First of all, I am not your comrade!

Second, if you don't have any good info to address my QUESTION, just stay quiet.

 

[juj06750]

First of all, I am not your comrade!
Second, if you don't have any good info to address my QUESTION, just stay quiet.

so your question is NOT for here;
I said to let us focus on the thread

 

[Figaro]

my comrade, this is chinese missile thread;
plz write them on russian forum

He was asking a question regarding Chinese hypersonic developments vs Russian ones ... what exactly is your problem? Are you just always here to spread provocative comments? Some members here already believe you are a false flagger, most likely of Indian origin ... and I am starting to think that as well unfortunately.

 

[LKJ86]

HQ-10

Via 秦慧鹏, 王光杰

 

[LKJ86]

HJ-10

Via @北疆卫士号 from Weixin

 

[LKJ86]

Via @央视军事报道 from Weixin

 

[LKJ86]

Via @海军新闻 from Weixin

 

[JSCh]

From weibo via 鼎盛DDX

​

Edit: video.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1317386673991417856

 

[Akasa]

View attachment 679930
Via @海军新闻 from Weixin

Is this the YJ-18A being trialed aboard the #891 (Type 909) weapons trials ship?

 

[LKJ86]

HJ-10

Via CCTV and @沉默的山羊 from Weibo

 

[LKJ86]

Via www.81.cn

 

[samsara]

From weibo via 鼎盛DDX

View attachment 680170
View attachment 680171
View attachment 680172
​

Edit: video.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1317386673991417856

From our int'l mod, Rupprecht Andreas Deino @RupprechtDeino on 2020-10-17:

Concerning the recent sighting of the PLAAF H-6N and its supposed huge ALBM/ALAShBM here's an interesting estimation of that missile's dimension.

(Image via @92军迷 from http://bbs.meyet.net)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1317486861464588288

 

[LKJ86]

 

[samsara]

From our int'l mod, Rupprecht Andreas Deino @RupprechtDeino on 2020-10-17:

Concerning the recent sighting of the PLAAF H-6N and its supposed huge ALBM/ALAShBM here's an interesting estimation of that missile's dimension.

(Image via @92军迷 from http://bbs.meyet.net)

View attachment 680537
View attachment 680538

https://twitter.com/x/status/1317486861464588288

China develops two new airborne ballistic missile systems

By Henri Kenhmann | East Pendulum

While Russia has officially announced the entry into service of a new hypersonic missile known as the Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal", which is nothing less than an airborne ballistic missile system, China for its part would also be developing two vectors of the same concept but this time discreetly.

The news was first revealed in early March 2018 by Lieutenant General Robert Ashley, director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), in his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on threats to the national security.

These capabilities are being augmented with two new air-launched ballistic missiles, one of which may include a nuclear payload - Lt. Gen. Robert ashley

Ashley said in his speech that the Chinese Rocket Force is bolstering its conventional and nuclear capabilities to accurately strike targets as far as Guam, which is the main US military base in the Western Pacific, relying on both the DF-21 anti-ship ballistic missile (in fact the DF-21D) and also the DF-26 long-range missile, itself capable of hitting fixed targets on the ground or moving at sea. All this is complemented by a growing array of cruise missiles of all kinds, as well as "two new airborne ballistic missiles, one of which could carry a nuclear charge".

The declaration of the director of the DIA, if it gives some credibility to the existence of such a development program in China, only confirms in reality the rumors circulating for two years, affirming that a platform capable of transporting a medium-range anti-ship ballistic missile - derived from the H-6K bomber and fitted with a supply pole to maintain or increase its range - would have reached the final stage of development. The first inaugural flight would have taken place in December 2016.

And the reference of H-6N, the meaning of which is not known to date (back then) [today we do know that H-6N is a variant of H-6 series bomber with capability to launch nuclear weapon attacks], also appears in some recent publications of the Chinese aircraft manufacturer AVIC (see our article on "H-6N, H-X... Chinese bomber programs are multiplying").

Not knowing its official designation given by the Chinese military, the American intelligence services referenced one of these two new Chinese missiles the "CH-AS-X-13", AS for Anti-Ship probably, and estimating the range of the machine to about 3,000 kilometers.

And according to US government sources, relayed by our colleague Ankit Panda in The Diplomat, this Chinese missile has already carried out five test shots. The first took place in December 2016, and the last in the last week of January 2018.

If it is difficult to reconstruct with open sources the first flight test of the system, because no less than 17 similar ballistic activities were recorded during the month of December alone in 2016, the last test dating from January 2018 seems easier to trace.

Indeed, if we filter the messages to airmen (NOTAM) valid between January 28 and 31 2018 and around Dingxing Air Base where most of the Chinese air weapons tests take place, we think that this fifth test reported by US sources would have taken place either on January 30, or on January 31 at two separate windows.

Just like the "Kinzhal" whose development is based on a Russian 9M723 short-range ground-to-ground ballistic missile (from the 9K720 Iskander system), it is believed that engineers from the Chinese missilier group CASIC have adopted the same approach, to reduce the development cycle, basing the design of the "CH-AS-X-13" on the DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile, and more specifically the AShBM DF-21D if the new missile is actually intended to strike large naval targets at sea.

Given the relatively large size of the DF-21/DF-21D, which measures 1.4 meters in diameter and 10.7 meters long for the land version, it is by no means surprising that the Chinese need to design a larger platform than the MiG-31K to carry and launch the new missile.

As for the estimated range of 3,000 kilometers of the "CH-AS-X-13" compared to about 1,500 km for the DF-21D, this is consistent when you consider that the announced range of the "Kinzhal" has increased fourfold compared to its twin ground-to-ground version.

DF-21D TELs (bottom) and DF-26 TELs with twice the range, both capable of hitting ships while sailing (Photo: Chinese Military)

The question now arises as to the objective of such an airborne missile system and its possible operational deployment. If this "CH-AS-X-13" is indeed designed for anti-ship, in particular against aircraft carriers which remain an "obsession" in all senses of the term of the Chinese military over the last 30 years, why develop such a capacity when it would duplicate the DF-21D ground-to-sea on the one hand, and the long-range DF-26 on the other?

Without being behind the scenes of small secrets, it is thought that the new "CH-AS-X-13" serves to expand the range of existing "anti-aircraft" weapons, and to give an additional dimension and greater operational flexibility to the overall "Anti Access / Area Denial" (A2/AD) system in China. This proliferation of offensive vectors would make counter-measures more difficult to maintain and succeed.

Its development also converts the DF-21D ground-to-sea, initially limited in range, to double its range to reach the same level as the DF-26 IRBM. On the other hand, it does not seem to be relevant both technically and operationally to develop an air-to-ground version based on the latter.

And the associated technologies would not only be dedicated to the military field and could be beneficial to some civilian programs. For example, this could allow CASIC, also a major player in the Chinese aerospace sector, to develop an airborne satellite launcher, similar to what it does with its competitor CASC with a Y-20 transport aircraft.

As for the question on the possible operational deployment of the missile, it will undoubtedly remain in the direction of the ocean, that is towards the Pacific Ocean as well as the South China Sea, with a possible extension to the Indian Ocean.

In view of its relatively short development, since the first pre-studies of an “airborne anti-ship ballistic missile” seem to have started around 2005, it would once again be a “pragmatic” and “contextual” weapon. the Chinese military, as for example the hypersonic glider missile DF-17 as well as the hypersonic reconnaissance drone of AVIC, which has a very precise and targeted objective, and would not therefore have a more general utility outside the sphere Chinese A2/AD.

One of the Chinese R&D documents dating from 2005 on the subject of the airborne ballistic missile dedicated to anti-ship missions.

Henri K.
2018-06-20