China Learned How to Make Its Hypersonic Weapons Twice As Devastating
Chinese scientists say they’ve significantly boosted the operational range for hypersonic weapons.
The scientists built a prototype hypersonic engine with a fuel efficiency of 79 percent.
China says its operational hypersonic missile could destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.
Chinese scientists have figured out how to nearly double the range of hypersonic missiles, according to a recently published paper. The study could increase fears that China’s growing hypersonic missile program may be used to defeat U.S. defenses.
The new missile tech upgrade is based on the fact that hypersonics often use air-breathing technology. To increase fuel efficiency, when the missile reaches hypersonic speed, the air is slowed to below the speed of sound before it enters the engine’s combustion chamber.
The Chinese researchers managed to build a prototype engine with a groundbreaking fuel efficiency of 79 percent. The team accomplished this feat by using the subsonic-combustion mode during a ground test that simulated a flight at an altitude of 15.5 miles at Mach 6, according to researchers from the National University of Defence Technology in Changsha, Hunan. The paper was first reported by the South China Morning Post.
“A solid scramjet engine has numerous advantages, such as simple structure, high volume-specific impulse, high flame stability, and the potential to work in a wide speed range,” the scientists write in their paper.
One challenge the researchers faced was controlling the solid-state fuel used to power the missile’s propulsion system. The scientists used boron powder pushed through multiple nozzles that were able to control the chemical reactions. The process reportedly produced an engine temperature of more than 3,000 degrees, about 50 percent higher than in a standard scramjet.
China claims it has an operational hypersonic missile that could destroy U.S. aircraft carriers. Analysts say the YJ-21 missile is meant to deter American intervention if China invades Taiwan as tensions grow in the region.
Hypersonic missiles, which can reach up to Mach 10, are expected to play a role in future conflicts. The missiles are also highly agile and reportedly can evade current missile defense systems.
The U.S. military is playing catch-up in the hypersonic missile race. Russia recently fired a hypersonic missile against a target in Ukraine, marking the first time the weapon has been used in combat. The U.S. doesn’t currently have an operational hypersonic missile, but the Air Force recently conducted a successful test of its Hypersonic Airbreathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). The HAWC tests will be used to design future hypersonic vehicles.
U.S. military planners are undoubtedly carefully watching the development of China’s fleet of hypersonic missiles.
You Might Also Like
