SOURCE: BCFOCUS
China made the world’s largest anti-ship ballistic missile to be launched from air into the sea, could pose a major threat to the Indian and US navies, capable of hitting up to 3000 km, the nuclear warhead can also carry Peaching
China has put the world’s largest air-launch missile into service amid mounting tensions from India and the United States. China has deployed this missile on its H-6N strategic bomber. Recently, this Chinese aircraft was seen flying with the aerial launch version of the hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile. Such missiles are only supplied by US and Russian forces, except China.
The US intelligence agency already knew
Since 2017, the US intelligence agency has reported that China manufactures two types of air-launched ballistic missiles. From this, the first missile that was seen recently, the United States named it CH-AS-X-13. The missile was first reported by Ankit Panda, Senior Fellow of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in April 2018.
How powerful is this missile
This anti-ship ballistic missile is powered by a two-stage engine, using solid fuel. Which has an operational range of about 3000 km. It is also claimed that the missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads with it. This missile is also called the aerial launch variant of the DF-21D. The DF-21D missile is over 9 meters long and can reach 2,000 kilometers. Therefore, this missile can be launched from the ground.
China’s H-6N strategic bomber is dangerous
According to The Drive report, the Chinese H-6N aircraft is extremely dangerous and designed to carry fast drones to anti-ship missiles. The aircraft is also capable of firing cruise missiles. It is an improved version of the modern Chinese H-6K bomber plane. The H-6K is based on the Soviet Union’s Tu-16 bomber aircraft. China is currently building hypersonic airborne missiles for its H-6N aircraft. China recently demonstrated a massive DF-17 missile during its military parade. There is very little information on the effectiveness of this missile. However, China certainly wants to tell the world that it has a fully active hypersonic missile.
India doesn’t even have this technology
India also lacks the technology to launch anti-ship ballistic missiles from the air. However, DRDO is working on the construction of such a missile. Which can be launched from the air. So far India has been able to acquire the technology to fire the BrahMos cruise missile from its Sukhoi-30 MKI. Because ballistic missiles are heavier and longer than cruise. In such a situation, they also need a long plane to get started.
Is able to target aircraft carriers
Experts who oversee China’s defense programs said the missile was developed primarily to target U.S. aircraft carriers. Apart from that, it is also capable of targeting any warship at sea. In such a situation, this Chinese missile risks threatening the US Navy. The greatest characteristic of such a missile is that it leaves the enemy the least time to react. By launching the land and sea variant of the ballistic missile, the enemy obtains information.
Defense experts differ on missiles
Many defense experts call it the naval version of the Chinese DF-21D missile. While this missile looks like China’s DF-17 because its front part looks like a hypersonic gliding vehicle (HGV). No official information has ever been shared by China on this missile.
DF-17 missile can hit up to 2,500 km
The Chinese DF-17 missile can penetrate its target at hypersonic speeds of up to 2,500 km. The missile was first presented last year to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of China. The missile, which weighs 15,000 kg and is 11 meters long, can carry nuclear warheads in addition to conventional explosives. Simply put, this missile is also capable of nuclear attacks.
