Warning to the US: China launches new hypersonic missiles
Created: 04/25/2022, 16:10
By: Max Mueller
Military tensions in the South China Sea are increasing.
© Class Keenan/dpa
With the hypersonic missile "YJ-21" China wants to counter the "maritime hegemony" of the USA in the South China Sea.
It is also about the role of Taiwan.
Beijing – China tested the new YJ-21 hypersonic missile over the weekend.
With the launch, Beijing wants to underpin its military capabilities and issue a warning to the US Navy, reports the Jerusalem Post.
The report mentions a video purporting to show the rocket being launched from a ship.
The guided missile destroyer 0-555, a warship of the Chinese Navy, is considered the largest and most modern destroyer in China's fleet.
It has 112 vertical launch missiles and is equipped with different weapons for different objectives: air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine.
China: New hypersonic missile is a reaction to the US
The new hypersonic missile "YJ-21" has an unpredictable flight path, reports the news portal Al-Jazeera.
Chinese scientists have long been aware of the strength and capability of American carrier groups.
Therefore, China has worked hard to counter the strength of the US Navy.
With a range of up to 1,500 kilometers, the YJ-21 can launch a large warhead that travels so fast that it penetrates an aircraft carrier's flight deck and destroys it instantly.
The range of the missile is greater than the range of the US's new carrier-based stealth fighter, the F-35C.
This is now forcing US aircraft carrier groups to move closer to their target, making them more vulnerable to attack.
"Beijing fears US will behave like Ukraine in Taiwan conflict"
Al-Jazeera
writes that Beijing's rocket launch is primarily intended to show the United States how costly interference in Taiwan politics could be
.
"The interplay of Type-055 and YJ-21 missiles was designed to counter America's maritime hegemony in the region," naval expert Li Jie is quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post.
Zhou Chenming, a military scientist from Beijing, agrees with Li's analysis in the Jerusalem Post.
He cites the recent "unlimited US military aid to Ukraine" as well as a group of US congressmen who visited Taiwan in a surprise act of support.
This unsettled the Chinese authorities.
"Beijing fears that in the event of a conflict between the mainland and Taiwan, Washington may provide the same assistance as in Ukraine," Zhou said.
(Max Mueller)
