CHINA KEEPS MODERNIZING ITS WEAPONRY WHILE OUR MILITARY SEEMS TO BE CONSUMED BY RACIAL AND GENDER ISSUES

China claims to have beaten US to develop next generation heat-seeking hypersonic missiles that could hone in on stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and moving vehicles

 

By Harry Howard 

Daily Mail 

January 1, 2022

A collage showing DF-17 hypersonic glide missiles and ballistic missiles of the Chinese military

 

China claims it has beaten the United States to developing heat-seeking hypersonic missiles that could hone in on targets including aircraft carriers and moving vehicles.

The development, which is likely to add intensity to the ongoing arms race between China, the US and Russia, comes after Beijing denied testing a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August. 

The projectile, which circled the planet, sparked concerns among officials in the US, but China insisted the missile launch was for a spacecraft.

However, now researchers from China's National University of Defence Technology claim to have developed technology to allow a hypersonic missile to find a target based on its heat signature. 

According to research cited by the South China Morning Post, lead scientist Professor Yi Shihe claimed in a scientific paper published last month that China had made a 'series of core technology breakthroughs that were proven effective in tests'.

If true, it means China may have overcome the difficulty of developing a heat-seeking system which capable of of working at hypersonic speeds. 

The feat is a challenge because the pace of the missile itself generates heat which can interfere with the detection systems. 

Hypersonic missiles can reach speeds of up to 21,000mph and can strike anywhere on Earth from space within minutes. 

The latest development comes amid experts' fears that hypersonic missiles could be used to spark World War Three, with Russia, China and the US all working on next-generation missiles. 

China claims it has beaten the United States to developing heat-seeking hypersonic missiles that could hone in on targets including aircraft carriers and moving vehicles 

 

The development, which is likely to add intensity to the ongoing arms race between China, the US and Russia, comes after Beijing denied testing a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August. Pictured: The October launch of China's Long March rocket, which is said to have been used in August to test the hypersonic missile 

 

The new research paper described breakthroughs in infrared homing technology. 

The developments are said to include a device that cools the surface of infrared windows, which would normally crack when subjected to high temperatures. 

The paper claimed that the advancement could transform conventional warfare. 

Whilst the US uses heat-seeking technology in its missiles defence systems, this only works in thin air at high altitudes, according to the Chinese researchers. 

DF-17 Dongfeng medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with a DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle, involved in a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Republic

 

But China claims to have found a way of getting heat-seeking missiles to work when flying at low altitudes, where the air is thicker.

According to the South China Morning Post, the US Department of Defence asked its contractors to work on the development of infrared sensors for their own hypersonic missiles. 

But this will reportedly take at least four years to achieve a result. 

 

On Thursday, US defence expert Michele Flournoy warned that the West is now in a 'very serious great-power competition' after 20 years of focusing on counter-terrorism.

'While we were focused on the broader Middle East, these countries went to school on the Western way of war. And they started investing massively in a whole host of new technologies,' she told the BBC's Today Programme.

Michele Flournoy, former Pentagon policy chief for US strategy under both Presidents Clinton and Obama, warned: 'We are really at a strategic inflection point where we - the US, the UK and our allies - are coming out of 20 years of focusing on counter terrorism and counter insurgency, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and lifting our gaze to realise we are now in a very serious great-power competition.'

The weapon tested by China in October can circle the globe at 21,000mph and descend from space to strike anywhere on Earth in minutes.