China Tests Deadly Hypersonic ‘Eagle Strike’ Anti-Ship Missile

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China has for the first time publicly demonstrated the launch of its deadly new hypersonic anti-ship missile – said to be designed to target aircraft carriers – in what experts believe is meant as a warning to the US Navy.

The missile — dubbed the “YJ-21” or “Eagle Strike 21” — is capable of speeds in excess of 3,806mph and is believed to have a strike range of some 620 miles. The display of military power comes ahead of the Chinese navy’s 73rd anniversary, which is this weekend. In a video clip of the apparent launch, the YJ-21 is deployed from a Type 055 vessel, the largest class of guided-missile destroyer in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) fleet.

The Type 055 destroyer, which first entered service in 2020, has a multi-mission design, being fitted with a variety of sensor and weapon hardware.

The latter is understood to include air-defense, anti-missile, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land-attack weapons, with the vessel harboring a total of 112 vertical-launch missile cells, 64 in the forward section and 48 cells aft.

The behemoth — the product of some 50 years of military development — is also understood to have been designed with various stealth features.

These include a layout intended to reduce radar cross-section and a smokestack engineered to reduce the vessel’s infrared signature.

Naval analyst Professor Jie Li of Beijing’s Naval Military Studies Research Institute told the South China Morning Post that the exhibition was intended to deter foreign — specifically, US — vessels from intervening in the event the People’s Republic attacked Taiwan.

He added: “The ship-borne YJ-21 missile, which has a range up to 1,000 kilometers [621 miles], is able to hit any vessel in an aircraft carrier strike group.

“The matching of the Type-55 and YJ-21 missile was designed for anti-access and area-denial to counter America’s maritime hegemony in the region.”

The rocket demo comes after a four-strong US Navy carrier strike group conducted routine operations off of the Korean peninsula last week in tandem with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force.