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Home» News»China test-fires new YJ-21 hypersonic missile
China test-fires hypersonic missile from Type 055 class cruiser
Screenshot from the launching video

China test-fires new YJ-21 hypersonic missile

The PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) just released a video showing the launch of a new hypersonic missile from a Type 055 cruiser. The missile is likely the Eagle Strike YJ-21...

Tayfun Ozberk 20 Apr 2022

YJ-21

Naval News regular contributor and analyst H I Sutton identified the missile as the hypersonic YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), based on the CM-401 design.

“The new missile outwardly resembles the CM-401 design, with the addition of a large booster phase. The CM-401 is roughly analogous to the Iskander missile although its diameter is only 600mm. It is possible that the new missile is related to the older CM-401 family, although the resemblance may be coincidental. And it may have a smaller diameter.”


H I Sutton, Naval Analyst and Naval News contributor

The YJ-21 characteristics are unknown because there has been no official notice of the test launch. The footage, on the other hand, implies a cold-launched (possibly two-stage) missile, implying an ant-ship ballistic missile with HGV. The control surfaces are rather small which means this is likely not an anti-air missile. According to open data, the VLS fitted aboard the Type 055s can accommodate missiles with the following maximum measurements: Length of 9 meters and diameter of 0.85 meters.

If this missile turns out to be the hypersonic YJ-21, the Type 055 cruisers would arguably become the most heavily armed warships worldwide.

The Chinese PLA Navy for the first time showed footage of the launch of a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile from a Project 055 destroyer. pic.twitter.com/Tdb6cz3UNR

— rohan panchigar (@rohanpanchigar) April 19, 2022

The missile was fired form a Type 055 Renhai-class cruiser. With 8 ships already in the water, the Chinese Navy’s Type-055 Renhai Class cruiser is making waves. It is undoubtedly the most impressive surface combatant in the PLAN (Chinese Navy) line-up, making it a natural focus of observers. New intelligence suggests that at least two more are under construction in Dalian, China.

To learn more about these surface combatants, check out:

Bigger Than A U.S. Navy AEGIS Cruiser: China Is Building More Type-055s
Hypersonics Type 055 YJ-21 2022-04-20
Tags Hypersonics Type 055 YJ-21
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Authors

Posted by : Tayfun Ozberk
Tayfun Ozberk is a former naval officer who is expert in Above Water Warfare especially in Littoral Waters. He has a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science. After serving the Turkish Navy for 16 years, he started writing articles for several media. Tayfun also offers analysis services on global naval strategies. He's based in Mersin, Turkey.

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