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Enoch Wong

State broadcaster CCTV has hinted that the Victory Day parade in Beijing this week could feature improved versions of two of its hypersonic missiles, the YJ-21 and DF-17, both with enhanced penetration capabilities.
China is set to hold a large-scale military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, and new weaponry is expected to be showcased.
One anticipated highlight is the air-launched variant of the YJ-21, originally a sea-based hypersonic missile.
In a programme on Saturday, military commentator Wei Dongxu told CCTV it could be launched from bombers “outside enemy air defence zones, penetrate interceptors and destroy targets before quickly returning to base”.
“Hypersonic missiles will adapt according to mission and platform, providing versatility across combat scenarios,” Wei said, describing their development as pointing to a family of land-, sea- and air-launched variants.
Known as the KD-21 by military observers, the air-launched variant of the YJ-21 was first seen in 2018, with satellite imagery suggesting ongoing development. China has not confirmed that any such missile is in service.


All weapons to be displayed in Wednesday’s parade are already in service, Beijing has said.
Believed to be carried by the H-6N strategic bomber, the KD-21 is thought to have a 3,000km (1,860-mile) range and an ability to carry nuclear or conventional warheads. It is estimated to travel between Mach 4 and Mach 6.
The YJ designation indicates an anti-ship role, giving rise to its nickname as an “aircraft carrier killer”.
Photographs taken in Beijing last month suggested four new YJ-series missiles could be unveiled in the parade.
Another possible debut on Wednesday could be a variant of the hypersonic land-based DF-17 missile.
Wei said during the CCTV programme that the DF-17 would continue to evolve.
“The glide body might be enlarged, and beyond range extension, it could also carry decoy warheads,” he said.
“These would confuse enemy early-warning and missile-defence systems, making it harder to distinguish the real target. This would greatly enhance penetration.”
“With optimised design, its trajectory could vary even further,” he added.
“Strengthening hypersonic missile capabilities will involve bigger boosters and diversified penetration methods, including manoeuvring paths, decoys and potentially multiple re-entry vehicles.”
The hypersonic DF-17 travels a non-standard flight trajectory. After being boosted to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere, its glide body can “skip” like a stone or take a bouncing flight path.
“This not only improves its penetration against defences but also extends its range,” Wei said. “The greatest advantages of hypersonic missiles are that they fly far, break through defences effectively and deliver accurate, powerful strikes.”


At altitudes of 20 to 100km, the DF-17’s glide path lies below the interception range of most midcourse missile defence systems, which typically operate above 100km. This makes interception extremely difficult.
Since its debut in China’s 2019 military parade, the DF-17 has remained largely out of sight until recently, with questions about its development and potential variants continuing to attract attention.
Earlier this month, CCTV aired the first footage of a DF-17 launch. It was fired from a road-mobile transporter-erector-launcher on a highway, showing what state media called an “unanchored launch” – meaning it can be fired without preset silos or fixed sites.
By contrast, other road-mobile missiles often require lengthy preparation, with vehicles needing to be stabilised before firing, thus hindering their mobility.
The DF-17’s flexibility allows it to disperse across China’s road network disguised as a civilian vehicle and launch within minutes of receiving orders.
With an operational range of 1,800 to 2,500km, the DF-17 enables China to project hypersonic strikes across the “first island chain” and into parts of the “second island chain”.
The chains are part of an American containment strategy to restrict Chinese military access to the Pacific Ocean, an approach the US has sought to maximise in recent years as tensions between the two countries have risen.
This reach puts major US bases in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines within range.
Hypersonic flight refers to speeds above Mach 5, or at least 6,174km per hour. At that rate, a journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic would take less than 3½ hours. Aside from China, the US and other countries have invested heavily in hypersonic research.
A Pentagon report published in December said China “has the world’s leading hypersonic missile arsenal”.
By contrast, the US Air Force’s AGM-183A has suffered repeated failures, with the joint Army-Navy Common Hypersonic Glide Body programme being delayed until at least autumn this year.
Last month, the BBC reported that the US was “playing catch-up” with China and Russia in terms of its operational hypersonic abilities.


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One anticipated highlight is air-launched variant of the originally sea-based YJ-21, nicknamed an ‘aircraft carrier killer’


One anticipated highlight is air-launched variant of the originally sea-based YJ-21, nicknamed an ‘aircraft carrier killer’.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}One anticipated highlight is air-launched variant of the originally sea-based YJ-21, nicknamed an ‘aircraft carrier killer’

One anticipated highlight is air-launched variant of the originally sea-based YJ-21, nicknamed an ‘aircraft carrier killer’