China’s Military Is Building Up Its Advanced Weaponry & The US Certainly Will Too - America has had a definitive military edge on China for the entire modern history of their bilateral relationship, commencing in 1979. It has been a pioneer in developing cutting-edge weapons systems, and remains a leader in that regard, with futuristic weapons such as the F-35 Lightning II fighter and the Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder system – designed to protect military bases against swarms of drones – now in its formidable arsenal.
The impressive display of China’s weaponry on October 1 appears to have changed all that. Now, Beijing has proved that it has some highly sophisticated weapons of its own.
During the 70th anniversary parade celebrating the birth of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing’s display of firepower was evidence of the emergence of a new “strategic triad” of weaponry. The existing nuclear triad of land-based bombers, intercontinental cruise missiles and ballistic-missile submarines is in the process of being replaced by stealthy drones, hypersonic cruise missiles and special forces using advanced helicopters and small high-speed boats.
It is clear that Beijing has invested a lot of money and resources and made some impressive achievements towards joining the ranks of global leaders in hypersonic weapons technology.
China’s hypersonic cruise missiles can fly 10 times faster than conventional cruise missiles. The DF-41 (Dongfeng-41) intercontinental ballistic missile is believed to be the most powerful missile in the world, with a range of up to 15,000km (further than any other missile) and capable of carrying 10 independently targeted nuclear weapons. Each warhead has yields of about 150 kilotons (equivalent to 150,000 tons of TNT). At 25 times the speed of sound, it would take only 30 minutes from launch to reach the US.
China has been testing hypersonic glide vehicles since 2014 and is expected to deploy its first model in 2020. The DR-8 supersonic drone can fly up to five times the speed of sound and get close enough to aircraft carriers to send targeting information back to missile launchers.
The “carrier killer” anti-ship missile, developed over the past decade, has a range of more than 1,500km and far surpasses the range of any warplane on US flight decks today. The DF-17 hypersonic glider can fly beyond Mach 5, is manoeuvrable (designed to evade anti-missile defences) and can carry a nuclear warhead.
The HSU-001 robot underwater vehicle (i.e. drone) is used for reconnaissance against submarines and ships by diving into the water from the air. It would also be useful for secretly mining an enemy harbour. And the Sharp Sword drone is bat-wing-shaped, designed for use from aircraft carriers, and possesses two internal bomb bays.
China has clearly demonstrated that it is a leader in military technological innovation