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Albee Zhang

A Type 052D destroyer fired a YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile into the air, Chinese media footage released this week showed, highlighting capabilities that could pose defence challenges for the US and its allies.
A YJ-20 missile was launched from a vertical launch system (VLS) of the Type 052D destroyer, according to a video clip released on Wednesday by state broadcaster CCTV. It is not known when the video was taken.
The YJ-20 missile, also known as a carrier-killer, debuted at Beijing’s large-scale military parade in September last year.
It is China’s first sea-based hypersonic anti-ship missile to have entered mass production.


“You can imagine how this will improve the navy’s combat capabilities,” said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military commentator and former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) instructor.
“If advanced Chinese surface vessels could all launch hypersonic anti-ship missiles, it would be fatal to adversaries.”
In a video released in December last year, a YJ-20 was launched from the much larger and more advanced Type 055 destroyer.
Also known as the Eagle Strike-20, the missile has been tailor-made for both Type 055 and modified Type 052D vessels.




The YJ-20 measures just under 9 metres (30 feet) long and is less than 850mm (33.5 inches) in diameter.
This is the first time the missile has been seen launched from a Type 052D vessel, a class the PLA operates in far greater numbers than the Type 055.
According to Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia programme at the Washington-based think tank Defence Priorities, the launch was more than just a test and the process of integrating the most “potent” missiles into the Chinese fleet is both wider and deeper than has been appreciated.
“Even before this development, it was my assumption that US Navy surface ships could not operate effectively near Taiwan or in the South China Sea, but this new development makes that problem even more acute,” Goldstein said.
“While US Navy submarines could still be quite effective against ships like 055 or 052D, they will also face challenges and also are too limited by small magazine size to be decisive.”
China currently has 35 of the 7,500-tonne Type 052D and 10 of the 11,000-tonne Type 055 destroyers in service, state media reported this year.
Both use the same vertical launch system, with the Type 055 featuring 112 VLS cells and the Type 052D equipped with 64.




The YJ-20 is estimated to have a range of 1,000 to 1,500km (621 to 932 miles) and is believed to be capable of sinking a large surface combatant – even an aircraft carrier – by combining kinetic penetration and warhead detonation.
“It’s inevitable that the Type 052D would be equipped with YJ-20 missiles because the 052D was a testing version of the Type 055,” Song said.
“The fielding of this missile will be normalised as hypersonic missiles are nearly impossible to intercept, and it has a strong damaging and killing ability towards large and slow surface targets.”
The YJ-20 has a midcourse speed exceeding Mach 6, and it can complete its 1,500km maximum range in about 13 to 14 minutes, severely compressing the enemy’s reaction window.
Its gliding altitude of 40 to 60km is also a blind spot for most early-warning radars, further reducing an enemy’s opportunity to respond.
During its final descent, the missile executes unpredictable lateral manoeuvres while accelerating to terminal velocities beyond Mach 10 – enough to penetrate enemy air defence systems, such as the ship-based Aegis used on US destroyers.
If widely fielded, Song said, the missile would be a “nightmare” for the US Navy.


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Successful launch poised to ‘improve the navy’s combat capabilities’ and create ‘nightmare’ for US Navy, military commentator says


Successful launch poised to ‘improve the navy’s combat capabilities’ and create ‘nightmare’ for US Navy, military commentator says.


China’s navy

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What China’s hypersonic anti-ship missile fired from a smaller destroyer signals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Successful launch poised to ‘improve the navy’s combat capabilities’ and create ‘nightmare’ for US Navy, military commentator says

Successful launch poised to ‘improve the navy’s combat capabilities’ and create ‘nightmare’ for US Navy, military commentator says