Does China Have a 2nd Hypersonic Weapon Under Development?

The DF-17, China's hypersonic missile that was first revealed at the National Day military parade on October 1, might not be the only hypersonic aircraft program China possesses, a report by the state broadcaster suggested.

Analysts stressed that China will not fall behind in related technologies compared with the US and Russia.

"From the test subjects that were made available to the public, the Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2) might use a different flight pattern to the DF-17," said military expert Ma Jun on Military Time, a China Central Television (CCTV) program on military affairs, on Saturday, without further elaboration.

According to Ma, the Xingkong-2 is still in the trial phase and more tests are expected.

The Xingkong-2 Ma referred to is the first Chinese waverider hypersonic vehicle unveiled by the country, dating a year earlier than the DF-17.

Designed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Xingkong-2 was successfully tested at a target range in Northwest China in August 2018, the academy announced then.

When the DF-17 missile made its debut at the National Day parade this year, some thought it might be the final product of the Xingkong-2 project.

One distinctive difference between the Xingkong-2 and the DF-17 is that the former has a fairing and the latter does not, making the two very different in appearance alone, analysts pointed out.

They noted that the time does not match either, as the Xingkong-2 was only tested in 2018 and is not likely to enter Chinese military service as early as 2019.

The CCTV program introduced two genres of hypersonic aircraft: one is a glide-boost, meaning the aircraft is propelled into the sky via a rocket and glides in the air using shock waves generated by its own hypersonic flight, while the other is air-breathing, meaning the aircraft uses a scramjet engine to provide thrust.

link.

China Leaked the Video of an Unknown Ground Launched Missile

China appears to have accidentally revealed the existence of a new high-speed ground-launched missile. A brief glimpse of what looks to be a test launch of this previously unseen weapon emerged earlier this week in an official video released in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist State on Oct. 1. There have already been indications that a number of new or otherwise previously unseen aircraft, missiles, and other systems will be present at a major parade in Beijing to mark the occasion next week.

The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, or PLARF, posted the full video on social media on Sept. 25, 2019. Sometime afterward, the original one-minute long montage was replaced with one that omitted the launch of the unknown weapon and replaced it with unrelated footage of known missiles, according to the South China Morning Post.

link.

Russians Claim to Have Successfully Tested the Avangard Boost Glide Weapon

The Russian Defence Ministry, on orders from President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday conducted a successful test launch of an Avangard missile from the Orenburg region, hitting a target in Kamchatka, the Kremlin press service reports.

link.

US Army's Multi Mission Launcher Test Fired Missile From Israeli Iron Dome System

The Israeli Iron Dome missile system completed a successful test firing in the USA. The US Army completed a successful test of Tamir interceptor missile from the new Multi Mission Launcher (MML) developed under a US Army initiative. During the test the missile scored a hit at the target drone. RAFAEL and Raytheon plan to continue adapting the Iron Dome and Tamir interceptor missile to meet the requirements of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC).

Prior to the test RAFAEL and its US partner Raytheon made the necessary adaptations to fit the Tamir missile with the Army experimental launcher. According to Lt. Col. Michael Fitzgerald, IFPC Inc 2-I Product Manager, the test was part of the US Army evaluation of different alternative effectors – both domestic and international, and their use with the Army’s new MML.

link.

some more photos.

China's Work on Hypersonic Weapons

China’s military is reorganizing itself to be a more modern, effective force. On January 1, 2016, the Second Artillery Force (第二炮兵部队) (responsible for China’s nuclear and conventional ballistic missile arsenals) was reorganized into the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; 火箭部队), elevating it to a service (军种) fully on-par with the Navy, Army and Air Force (Sina, January 1). As China streamlines its military and works to improve the quality of its personnel, several cutting edge projects are in the works to provide the People’s Liberation Army with advanced weapons. One of these is the PRC’s hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), called the DF-ZF in China and designated by U.S. defense officials as the Wu-14. The development and testing of this new class of hypersonic weaponry in China has been extremely secretive. However, its eventual operational deployment will represent a significant improvement in the PLARF’s conventional and nuclear arsenals, as it has the potential to penetrate even the strongest layered anti-missile defenses of the United States and its allies.

link.

Russia Claims Surface to Air Missiles Able to Shoot Down Hypersonic Missiles by 2020

Russia's air defenses will have the ability to effectively repel hypersonic attacks by 2020, according to the Russian Ground Forces' Air Defense Force chief Alexander Leonov.

Russia’s Air Defense Force has focused its R&D efforts on second-to-none military equipment which will allow Moscow to effectively eliminate all types of enemy air attacks, including those using hypersonic technologies, RIA Novosti reported.

The news agency quoted the Russian Ground Forces' Air Defense Force chief Alexander Leonov as saying that the country's next generation air defense systems are set to enter service before the end of 2019.

"Creating next generation air defenses capable of effectively fighting all types of air attacks, including hypersonic ones, is one of the main directions of development of Russia's air defense forces until 2020," Leonov said.

link.

China Confirms Su-35, S-400 Deals With Russia

Col. Wu Qian said the Su-35 project is “one of the areas in which China and Russia are willing to cooperate.”

He added that the S-400 acquisition is progressing smoothly.

link.

Raytheon Tests 2 km Range Pike Missile That can be Fired From a 40mm Grenade Launcher

Raytheon Company successfully fired two Pike 40 mm precision-guided munitions from a standard tube grenade launcher during flight tests at Mile High Resources in Texas. Both rounds landed within the targeted impact area after flying more than 2,300 yards. (2.1 km). Weighing less than two pounds and measuring just 16.8 inches (42.6 cm) in length, Pike can be fired from a conventional, single-shot grenade launcher such as the M320 or EGLM (Enhanced Grenade Launching Module). The maximum range of M320 grenade launcher is 437 Yards (350 meters).

link.