Chinese research team says it has designed a 2,000 km anti-aircraft missile

In a recent peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Graphics , a team of researchers at China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University said they had designed a surface-to-air missile with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers. Surface-to-air missiles typically have a range of only a few dozen kilometers to a maximum of several hundred kilometers.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST SCREENSHOT

According to the South China Morning Post , the Chinese team of researchers said their rocket is only 8 meters long and weighs 2.5 tons. The rocket consists of two engines, one used to launch from the vertical launch system, and a ramjet engine to send the rocket into the upper atmosphere.

Real-time data from surveillance satellites will guide the missile closer to its target before it activates its own sensors in the final phase and detonates when the warhead reaches the right zone to destroy the target.

The weapon could shoot down airborne early warning aircraft and bombers, refueling aircraft, and other large, slow-moving aircraft compared to other combat aircraft. The team says the distinctive features of these aircraft could be identified and tracked by satellites using artificial intelligence, as soon as they appear on the runway.

According to the article, the Chinese military will warn the country that owns the aircraft and will only fire back if the aircraft refuses to turn back. Researchers say the new missile has important implications for regional and global peace and stability.

The article did not describe the missile’s appearance but suggested it could be similar to the Feitian-1 hypersonic glide vehicle that was successfully tested two years ago by Northwestern Polytechnical University. The university is a key research base for China’s development of advanced weapons.