China unveils hypersonic missile

China's National University of Defense Technology unveiled the Lingyun-1 hypersonic missile prototype last week, marking the first time the missile has been unveiled and given an official designation.

Lingyun-1 appears to use a scramjet engine design tested by China in 2015, allowing it to reach speeds of 6,200 km/h, five times the speed of sound and meeting the criteria for hypersonic weapons, according to Defense Post.

Lingyun-1 was introduced in the context of major powers such as Russia and the US successfully testing many hypersonic weapons. Chinese media confirmed that Lingyun-1 was built for civilian purposes, but analysts said it could easily be developed into a long-range anti-ship missile similar to the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal line recently announced by Russia.

"The Lingyun-1 missile uses a scramjet engine, it is not designed to leave the atmosphere. It is likely to only carry a conventional warhead to attack targets such as ships, ports or airports, instead of targeting strategic targets like intercontinental ballistic missiles," said analyst Joshua Pollack. This shows that the Lingyun-1 is not part of the DF-17 project, a ballistic missile carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle capable of reaching US territory.

"China has been deploying hypersonic weapons to threaten US aircraft carrier groups and expeditionary forces. We do not have similar weapons to retaliate, nor do we have a defense system capable of intercepting them," Michael D. Griffin, the US undersecretary of defense for research and technology, admitted before the US Senate.