China unveils new hypersonic attack aircraft design

China's CCMF TV channel has revealed the first images of the top-secret JF-12 supersonic attack aircraft being tested by the country's military.

Through the images released by CCMF, the JF-12 – also known as “Hyper Dragon” – is being tested in a wind tunnel to check its characteristics before mass production. This is a miniature version of the JF-15 aircraft used for the experimental process.

Built in 2012, the JF-12 is a top secret project of the Chinese military. The production cost of this aircraft is estimated at nearly 7 million USD, capable of generating wind speeds of nearly 10 times the speed of sound, or about 12,300 km/h.

At such speeds, the air temperature in the test tunnel can reach 3,000 degrees Celsius to test the impact of supersonic movement on the structural materials of the aircraft.

This futuristic hypersonic aircraft is designed to resemble the tip of an arrow. Chinese military observers believe that with a speed 10 times faster than sound, the JF-12 will be a difficult challenge for current air and missile defense systems.

“The combination of high speed, maneuverability, and low altitude makes them challenging targets for missile defense systems,” a report released by the US National Aerospace Intelligence Center this summer said.

According to DeathRattleSports, the scientist in the video, Jiang Zonglin, did not mention the military applications of "Hyper Dragon". Instead, Mr. Jiang said that China is developing a commercial aircraft that can fly from Beijing to New York in just two hours, seven times faster than the current one.

The scientist added that the JF-12 test tunnels operate every two days and each test only lasts for 1/10 of a second.

According to News