According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Chinese researchers claim to have designed a new ultra-long-range surface-to-air missile with a range of 2000 km.
The missile is being developed to shoot down high-value aerial assets such as AEW&CS and bombers. Such a long-range missile would allow China to prevent enemy bombers from launching missiles from safer distances.
This claim follows the recent test of the AGM-183A ARRW in the Pacific by the United States, a hypersonic missile allowing US bombers to launch from a range of 1600 km.
According to the report, the PLA would warn aircraft from any country and initiate a missile launch only if the aircraft did not retreat.
While it’s not possible to detect aircraft from such longer ranges via ground based radar, the report claimed that the missile will be guided by real time data from Chinese reconnaissance satellites before using its own sensors in the terminal phase.
Chinese satellites for aircraft detection
China claims to have established a powerful global satellite monitoring network capable of detecting even stealth bombers such as the American B2 and B21 bombers.
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The Jilin-1, the world’s largest Earth Observation Satellite constellation, is allegedly capable of tracking an American F22 stealth fighter.
Deployment of sensors in satellites enables countries to overcome earth’s curvature limitations, thus detecting targets from significantly longer ranges.
While satellite-based sensors are primarily used to detect ballistic missile launches, they can also detect aircraft travelling at high altitudes.
Unknown ultra long-range missile
While the report didn’t provide the appearance of the missile, it stated that the missile would be 8 metres long and weigh 2.5 tons to make it suitable for vehicle-mounted mobile launch.
The missile features a solid rocket motor to provide enormous thrust for vertical launch and uses ramjet propulsion in the second stage.
The report also suggests that the new missile is likely to be similar to the Feitian-1 hypersonic vehicle, tested two years ago, which also has a two-stage propulsion system.
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Superior to Russia’s S500
The S-500 Prometheus is the world’s longest-range surface-to-air missile system in the context of air defence. While the system is primarily designed for ballistic missile defence, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at ranges up to 600 km, it can reportedly also shoot down AEW&CS, bombers, and ISTAR aircraft at ranges of up to 500 km.
The Chinese missile, with a range four times greater than that of the S-500 system, if true, would allow China to prevent US bombers from launching long-range cruise missiles and upcoming hypersonic weapons from stand-off distances, and disable AEW&CS support to American fighter jets, thereby boosting China’s Anti Access/Aerial Denial capability against the United States.
Doubts regarding Chinese advancements
China has developed a series of HQ-9 air defence systems, based on Russian S-300 systems, with ranges up to 300 km so far.
While current HQ-9 missiles feature semi-active radar homing, the new missile requires active radar homing for launch via external guidance and engagement of targets at such long ranges without assistance from ground-based radar.
The direct leap from 300 km to 2000 km has raised many doubts about the credibility of the claim.
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Conclusion
While China claims to be developing a 2000 km ranged surface-to-air missile, the validity of this claim is met with considerable doubt. However, if proven true, such a missile could pose a significant threat to bombers, AEW&CS, and other high-value assets of the United States and other rivals, including India. The development of such advanced weaponry underscores the ongoing competition and strategic challenges in the global defence landscape.
