Advanced aircraft, menacing missiles – China’s top air show sends a warning to the US
- Anti-ship hypersonic YJ-21 missile makes first public appearance at top Chinese air show
- This year’s military display less about sales, more about messages, experts say
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Military experts said the weapon’s appearance at the 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, could be seen as a warning to the United States on Taiwan.
Two missiles sporting the designation “2PZD-21” were seen mounted under the wings of an H-6K strategic bomber that landed at Jinwan airport in Zhuhai, the southern coastal city where the biennial air show is being held until Sunday.
The signature conical shape of the missile’s warhead is similar to the Russian Kh-47 Kinzhal nuclear-capable, high precision hypersonic air-launched missile, which is said to be able to reach Mach 12 with a range of more than 2,000km.
Dubbed the “carrier killer”, the Kh-47 Kinzhal can be launched from a MiG-31K interceptor or a Tu-22M3 bomber. But experts said the Chinese variant was more powerful and would deter US warships from entering the region in the event of a conflict.
Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Kanwa Asian Defence military magazine in Canada, said the Chinese YJ-21 missile was also bigger than the Russian Kh-47s, meaning its combat range would be more than 2,000km.
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“It’s not clear the size of the YJ-21, but the Russian Kh-47 is up to 500kg (1,100lbs), and each MiG-31 fighter jet could only carry one missile. That’s why the Chinese use the heavy H-6K strategic bomber to launch the YJ-21 missiles,” Chang said.
Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Yuan Wang think tank in Beijing, said the combat range and speed of the YJ-21 missile was superior to the Kh-47 type, as was its precision strike capability.
“The PLA has tried to upgrade the speed, range and precision of the YJ-21 in the past years,” Zhou said. “The missile aims to intimidate Taiwan’s independence-leaning forces.”
However, Chang said the appearance of the YJ-21 hypersonic missile was only intended to send a message to the US, not Taiwan, since the Taiwanese military would be no match for such a weapon.
The weapon display comes about six months after the People’s Liberation Army Navy released a video of a ship-based YJ-21 being launched from a Type 055, the navy’s largest and most advanced destroyer. The video appeared as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group was conducting exercises with the Japanese navy near the Korean peninsula in April.
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Beijing sees Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of it. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Washington normalised relations with Beijing and cut off official ties with Taipei in 1979, but it opposes any attempt to take the island by force.
China used to showcase its advanced weapon systems for the purpose of selling them to overseas clients.
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This year’s air show also saw the debut of an anti-drone combat system, which combines unmanned equipment, an early-warning detection system and a portable weapon. It was inspired by recent global conflicts including the ongoing war in Ukraine, where shoulder-fired, portable rocket launchers have been widely used.
