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Aviation enthusiasts observed planes flying near an air base in central China. You may think aircraft tracking is a bit of a weird hobby, but those thoughts quickly dissipate when aviation enthusiasts manage to spot something interesting. This time, the Xian H-6N strategic bomber was captured with a strange looking weapon mounted directly below the fuselage.
What is it? Well, there will be no official confirmation, but the shape of the nose of this rocket reveals that it is a hypersonic weapon. This type of missile flies 5 times faster than sound, making it extremely difficult to shoot it down with conventional missile defenses. This makes them extremely dangerous. When such a missile is detected by good enough modern radar, there is half a minute left to act (or even less). And China has those weapons.
VIDEO: Chinese H-6N bomber with air-launched ballistic missile
The DF-17 hypersonid missile is believed to have settled under the bomber. We saw this weapon for the first time in a military parade in October 2019. In it, these rockets boasted in their trucks: when launched from a truck, said rocket can accelerate to more than 12 thousand kilometers per hour. And now it seems that it will also be possible to launch them from bombers.
The DF-17 is a combination of the DF-16 missile and the DF-ZF hypepersonid flying head. When the rocket finishes its job, it falls and the DF-ZF is launched towards the target. This results in a double hit: the target is destroyed by both the power of the blast and the kinetic impact. In theory at least, the DF-17 could also have a warhead. Missilethreat.csis.org states that the DF-17’s combat range is 1800-2500 km, and Thediplomat.com writes that these missiles are very accurate.
The Xian H-6, meanwhile, is a fairly old bomber, a Soviet version of the Tu-16 that took off for its maiden flight in 1959. Of course, it was constantly updated. The H-6N version, which is the latest, has a state-of-the-art cockpit, refueling capabilities, and can launch cruise missiles.
Launching hypersonic missiles from bombers has several advantages. First of all, it expands your reach: after all, trucks don’t drive in oceans and ships aren’t attacked, but bombers are. In addition, it further reduces the chances of defense, since a bomber like the H-6N can approach 1050 km / h. speed. And, as you’ve seen and the intended range of the D-17 missile, you don’t even need to get very close.
What will China do with missile-armed bombers that sound great? In this way, for example, the D-17 could quickly and effectively destroy key defense capabilities in Taiwan or India, paving the way for attacks with conventional ballistic missiles or military aviation. These weapons could also quickly destroy ships sailing in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, if they are that precise.
When the Russian naval frigate Admiral Gorshkov tested the Zircon hypermisile on October 6, the United States said it was preparing for the threat from hypersonic missiles. I wonder how? These weapons don’t have a lot of weaknesses or at least they don’t talk about them publicly.
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