The competition in the Hypersonic and directed-energy weapon

China, unsurprisingly, is one of the countries that is concentrating its efforts in both areas of hypersonic and directed weapons.

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Aerospace and Defense Review | Sunday, May 08, 2022

Several countries in the Asia-Pacific region are competing in the global hypersonic and directed energy weapons race, with these regional powers having either developed or publicly stated intentions to develop such technology.

FREMONT, CA:China, unsurprisingly, is one of the countries that is concentrating its efforts in both areas of hypersonic and directed weapons. It is largely regarded as the industry leader in hypersonic systems, having already deployed hypersonic weapons called the DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle. In late 2019, the DF-17 HGV made its first public appearance at a military parade in Beijing, China's capital. In its first stage, the weapon appears to use a typical ballistic missile booster to accelerate a glide vehicle, which is then used to attack a target after reentry.

According to US official sources, China has conducted many HGV tests, including the DF-17, since 2014. The DF-17 is the world's first operational system of its kind, while several other countries, including the United States, are developing similar systems. Furthermore, a video briefly posted on Chinese social media in October last year showed a People's Liberation Army Air Force Xi'an H-6N bomber landing at an airbase carrying what appeared to be a boost-glide HGV — or at least a mock-up used for transport and another flying testing.

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Officials at the Pentagon had largely suspected that China was working on an air-launched ballistic missile that would be carried onboard H-6 bombers, but no specifics were known until the video surfaced. However, it's unclear whether this air-launched weapon is the same as the one mentioned by the Pentagon, or if China is working on a different system with a more conventional warhead.

In addition to China's existing arsenal of ballistic, cruise, land-attack, and anti-ship missiles, the deployment of road-mobile and air-launched HGVs broadens China's capacity to hold an adversary's targets at risk, providing missile defences is another threat vector to be taken into account.

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