Chinese sources have reported that a mystery anti-ship hypersonic missile is being tested by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
According to the current information, the prototype hypersonic missile, being developed to increase the firepower of the newest Chinese Type 055 guided missile destroyers, has done successfully land tests.
Sources have claimed the new hypersonic missile, known as YJ-XX, will to capable of destroying US warships missile defenses. The YJ-XX is an ultra-high-speed missile, with the range of 1000 km, allegedly capable of penetrating US air defense systems based on Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Block IIA and SM-6 Block IA hit-to-kill interceptor missiles.
Notably, the first Type 055 destroyer, Nanchang (visual indicative 101), made its first public debut during the massive celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy in Qingdao.
The 180-meter long, 20-meter wide Type 055 class is a development of the Type 052D Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer but is about a third bigger than the latter.
The ship is armed with 112 vertical-launch cells with the ability to fire HHQ-9 surface-to-air missiles, YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles, and CJ-10 land-attack cruise missiles. The main gun is a H/PJ-38 130-mm gun, but there are reports that this vessel also could eventually be equipped with a railgun. The vessel uses X- and S-band radars, allowing it to track stealthy objects of various sizes.
Type 055 with newest anti-ship hypersonic missiles descendants could significantly extend the Chinese Navy range at the central Pacific.
