Saifullah Sani
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China is developing its own hypersonic anti-ship missile, the Dong Feng 21D.
China is developing its own hypersonic anti-ship missile, the Dong Feng 21D. This isn't a cruise missile but rather a ballistic missile launched toward space and arcing back to Earth. The DF-21D is capable of hurtling down at speeds of about Mach 10 and covering a range of 1,500 kilometres.
Dubbed the "carrier killer," it is believed this new weapon would be used against American aircraft carriers to destroy U.S. naval supremacy in the western Pacific and block America from coming to the defence of Taiwan.
The technology behind the DF-21D is nothing new -- the weapon is a variant of a proven Chinese medium range ballistic missile. What is new -- and a potential game-changer -- is the possibility of precisely striking ships at long range with non-nuclear warheads. China, however, has yet to prove it can accurately hit a moving vessel with a ballistic missile falling at Mach 10.
The chief of India's navy is dismissive of China's anti-ship missile program. As reported by the Indian Express, Adm. Nirmal Verma said "Targeting ships on the high seas is not an easy task ... There are limitations in terms of maritime reconnaissance and long-range searches."
He added that it was a "complex problem" to use a conventional missile against a moving target on the high seas.
With enough time and resources, however, China could overcome these technical challenges and threaten America's crucial carriers with the DF-21D.
"China's ability to bypass America's robust air-defence capability and strike ships at sea with ballistic missiles could severely limit American naval power," according to Abraham Denmark and James Mulverson of the Center for a New American Security.
Newsweek quotes retired U.S. rear admiral and defence attaché to Beijing Eric McVadon as describing China's anti-ship weapons as "pretty daunting."
To counter these new weapons, America will need to rely on ballistic missile defence systems. The U.S. has invested heavily in such technology but it is still in its infancy and not fully reliable.
Directed-energy beams such as lasers can be countered with reflective materials and, for a slowly spinning ballistic missile, there would be little effect on any one spot. Furthermore, hypersonic cruise missiles and ballistic warheads are hardened with materials capable of withstanding the scorching heat from high speed flight.
The most practical defensive measure is to strike the incoming weapon with another hypersonic missile, the proverbial "hitting a bullet with another bullet." The United States has proven it can do this, albeit in controlled tests and with inconsistent results. Further ballistic missile defence research could be applied to dealing with threats posed by the DF-21D and hypersonic cruise missiles like the Brahmos II. However, a dependable missile defence system is a long way off.
The United States has its own hypersonic missile development program. The X-51A Waverider is designed to demonstrate scramjet technology for missiles and spaceplanes. The first test took place last May and lasted only about 200 seconds. The US Air Force, however, notes this marked the first flight of a practical hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet (the engine runs on a special jet fuel).
With this confirmed success, America appears to have taken the lead in the hypersonic missile race. The competition, however, isn't far behind and the stakes are high for America's position in the global balance of power. This was clearly explained by U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates in his address to an Air Force Association Convention in 2009.
"When considering the military-modernization programs of countries like China," Gates said, "we should be concerned less with their potential ability to challenge the U.S. symmetrically -- fighter to fighter or ship to ship -- and more with their ability to disrupt our freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options. Their investments in... anti-ship weaponry and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific -- in particular our forward air bases and carrier strike groups."
The race is on to develop the next generation of anti-ship missiles and reshape naval warfare -- and possibly dictate who will rule the waves.
Hypersonic missile threat - Winnipeg Free Press
China is developing its own hypersonic anti-ship missile, the Dong Feng 21D. This isn't a cruise missile but rather a ballistic missile launched toward space and arcing back to Earth. The DF-21D is capable of hurtling down at speeds of about Mach 10 and covering a range of 1,500 kilometres.
Dubbed the "carrier killer," it is believed this new weapon would be used against American aircraft carriers to destroy U.S. naval supremacy in the western Pacific and block America from coming to the defence of Taiwan.
The technology behind the DF-21D is nothing new -- the weapon is a variant of a proven Chinese medium range ballistic missile. What is new -- and a potential game-changer -- is the possibility of precisely striking ships at long range with non-nuclear warheads. China, however, has yet to prove it can accurately hit a moving vessel with a ballistic missile falling at Mach 10.
The chief of India's navy is dismissive of China's anti-ship missile program. As reported by the Indian Express, Adm. Nirmal Verma said "Targeting ships on the high seas is not an easy task ... There are limitations in terms of maritime reconnaissance and long-range searches."
He added that it was a "complex problem" to use a conventional missile against a moving target on the high seas.
With enough time and resources, however, China could overcome these technical challenges and threaten America's crucial carriers with the DF-21D.
"China's ability to bypass America's robust air-defence capability and strike ships at sea with ballistic missiles could severely limit American naval power," according to Abraham Denmark and James Mulverson of the Center for a New American Security.
Newsweek quotes retired U.S. rear admiral and defence attaché to Beijing Eric McVadon as describing China's anti-ship weapons as "pretty daunting."
To counter these new weapons, America will need to rely on ballistic missile defence systems. The U.S. has invested heavily in such technology but it is still in its infancy and not fully reliable.
Directed-energy beams such as lasers can be countered with reflective materials and, for a slowly spinning ballistic missile, there would be little effect on any one spot. Furthermore, hypersonic cruise missiles and ballistic warheads are hardened with materials capable of withstanding the scorching heat from high speed flight.
The most practical defensive measure is to strike the incoming weapon with another hypersonic missile, the proverbial "hitting a bullet with another bullet." The United States has proven it can do this, albeit in controlled tests and with inconsistent results. Further ballistic missile defence research could be applied to dealing with threats posed by the DF-21D and hypersonic cruise missiles like the Brahmos II. However, a dependable missile defence system is a long way off.
The United States has its own hypersonic missile development program. The X-51A Waverider is designed to demonstrate scramjet technology for missiles and spaceplanes. The first test took place last May and lasted only about 200 seconds. The US Air Force, however, notes this marked the first flight of a practical hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet (the engine runs on a special jet fuel).
With this confirmed success, America appears to have taken the lead in the hypersonic missile race. The competition, however, isn't far behind and the stakes are high for America's position in the global balance of power. This was clearly explained by U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates in his address to an Air Force Association Convention in 2009.
"When considering the military-modernization programs of countries like China," Gates said, "we should be concerned less with their potential ability to challenge the U.S. symmetrically -- fighter to fighter or ship to ship -- and more with their ability to disrupt our freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options. Their investments in... anti-ship weaponry and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific -- in particular our forward air bases and carrier strike groups."
The race is on to develop the next generation of anti-ship missiles and reshape naval warfare -- and possibly dictate who will rule the waves.
Hypersonic missile threat - Winnipeg Free Press
