A Watershed Hypersonic Technology Breakthrough: China’s New Hypersonic Air-to-air Missile

There is an arms race going on among the major powers to develop hypersonic missile technology (missiles flying above Mach 5 speed – 6,400 kilometres per hour).

Russia’s recent test use of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile in Ukraine was observed with awe. The US has also tested its first hypersonic missile - the Dark Eagle, a surface-to-surface intermediate range boost-glide weapon.

China leads the world in the development and deployment of hypersonic weapon systems, first deploying the DF-17 in 2017.

Subsequently, China has fielded more submarine-fired, ground-based, and air-launched hypersonic missiles such as DF-21D, DF-26B, DF-27, DF-31, CJ-100, and YJ-21.

Each features different range and speed. They are also designed for different target types – ground target, maritime targets, or surface-to-air defence. Some of these missiles sport nicknames like carrier-killers and Guam Express.

China has just upped its game again. A new hypersonic air-to-air missile was recently unveiled by the China Airborne Missile Academy (CAMA), a division of the Aviation Industry of China and the main developer and supplier of air-to-air missiles to the Chinese air force.

This is a game-changing breakthrough. Current hypersonic missiles are primarily designed to go after ground targets or slow-moving naval targets (China is the only country known to have deployed hypersonic missiles against naval targets such as carriers).

For a long time, the ability to create air-to-air missiles with such a high speed was considered little more than a pipe dream. The higher a missile’s speed, the more difficult it is to make a turn, especially when aiming at an aircraft that is moving much faster than ground vehicles or ships.

The main technical challenge for hypersonic air-to-air missile is heat management. At speed over Mach 5, air-to-air missiles experience extreme aerodynamic thermal environments, and the missile needs to constantly adjust its flight attitude when tracking a target, which leads to changes in surface temperature over time at different parts.

The entire missile needed to be able to withstand prolonged exposure to temperatures exceeding 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit). This meant that not only the front, but other parts of the missile, including the engine, needed to be equipped with comprehensive and efficient thermal protection systems.

In the face of extreme heat flow impacts, air-to-air missiles may suffer thermal damage, structural deformation and even destruction. The missile’s internal electronics may be disrupted.

How to effectively simulate this complex and transient aerodynamic thermal environment on the ground has become one of the key issues to ensure the safe service of the thermal protection system.

To find suitable thermal insulation materials for air-to-air missiles, Chinese scientists at CASA have used extreme testing methods, including burning samples with oxyacetylene flames, used for welding metals, lasers, and high-temperature plasmas. The plasma flames could reach 16,000 degrees Celsius, according to the project team.

Details of the final evaluations of full-scale missile prototypes were given in a peer-reviewed paper published in Chinese-language journal Equipment Environmental Engineering last month. These evaluations were conducted in an arc-heated wind tunnel.

“By heating the gas with an electric arc, [this type of tunnel] can generate hot air flows reaching thousands to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius,” the project team, led by senior CAMA scientists Cheng Gong and Huang Yimin, wrote in the paper.

The arc-heated wind tunnel can operate continuously for an hour or more, but due to its enormous power consumption, it is “super expensive” to run, Cheng and Huang said. As a result, it is mainly used for the most challenging space missions, such as simulating the landing of Tianwen-1 spacecraft on Mars.

Based on the technical break-through, the new Chinese hypersonic air-to-air missile (yet to be named) has undergone extreme heat-resistance testing and is able to meet the stringent performance requirements of the PLA Air Force.

The missile is believed to have an ultra long range of 1,000 kilometres or more, which can be travelled in 8 minutes at Mach 5.

This is the first official confirmation of the existence of this mysterious weapon, which could pose an unprecedented threat to US military aircraft, including the F-22, F-35 stealth fighters and B-21 stealth bomber.

In a simulated air combat exercise conducted in 2023, scientists with the Northwestern Polytechnical University armed a Chinese J-16 (a 4.5 generation fighter) with this long-range missile that was able to climb to the edge of the atmosphere and come down to an aircraft at hypervelocity.

This has been seen by some military experts as one of the countermeasures being prepared by China in response to the potential threat posed by America’s B-21.

The detection range of mainstream airborne missile warning systems is less than 10km (6.2 miles), which would mean that from the time the alarm sounded to the missile’s arrival, pilots would have less than four seconds to react.

In the US military, neither the B-21 nor widely used large air platforms such as warning aircraft and tankers can reach the speed of sound. Even the powerful F-22 can only accelerate to about Mach 2, making an escape unlikely.

The introduction of this weapon has serious implications for global air combat strategies, especially for the U.S. military and its allies. The U.S. B-21 Raider new stealth bomber, with its stealth capabilities and long-range strike capabilities, represents the cutting edge of American air power, but the threat of hypersonic weapons could force a reconsideration of how such aircraft are deployed in contested airspace.

The B-21 was designed with the assumption that adversaries would rely on traditional anti-air threats, such as surface-to-air missiles and fighter jets. The hypersonic missile, however, could engage even the most advanced stealth bombers at ranges far beyond the capabilities of conventional interception systems, making them vulnerable in ways previously unimagined.

The development of air-to-air hypersonic missiles represents a new frontier in aerial warfare. These weapons offer far greater ranges and speeds than traditional air-to-air missiles, which are typically limited by their reliance on radar guidance and the necessity of in-flight updates from the launching platform.

A hypersonic air-to-air missile, due to its sheer speed, could engage targets with little to no warning and without relying on extensive data links to ensure its accuracy. This dramatically changes the nature of air combat, as enemy aircraft—especially slower-moving tankers, bombers, and early warning platforms—will have limited options for evasion.

The strategic implications of this technology are profound. Air forces must now rethink their defence strategies in the face of such advanced missile technology.

The challenge is not only technological but also economic. Hypersonic systems, due to their complex engineering and high operating costs (such as the expense of running advanced wind tunnels), represent a significant investment.

As the hypersonic arms race continues, China’s lead will force its adversaries to make huge investments in defensive measures.

Bankrupting your enemy is part of Sun Tzu’s Art of War.