Start your engines … is China getting ready to mass-produce hypersonic vehicles?

A screen capture from a video of a hypersonic vehicle using the combined cycle engine under development at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Source: CCTV

 

Plans are on the drawing board in China for an engine plant that could power low-cost planes or spacecraft capable of travelling five times faster than the speed of sound

China is drawing up plans for an aerospace engine plant that would pave the way for the mass production of “hypersonic” planes or spacecraft capable of travelling at more than five times the speed of sound, boosting the country’s competitiveness in defence, space, business and other sectors, according to scientists familiar with the project.

The plant that would be built in Hefei, in China’s eastern Anhui province, could give the country an edge over the United States and Russia in the race to achieve large-scale applications of hypersonic technology, the scientists said.

Hefei deputy mayor Wang Wensong led a delegation to the Institute of Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing last month to discuss the project’s roll-out, according to a statement on the institute’s website. 

Russian military developing long-range supersonic missile-lobbing drone

Designed to infiltrate far into an enemy’s territory, the new system will carry both guided and unguided munitions.

Russia is working on a long-range unmanned strike system, Zvezda, the official television channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense, has learned.

Russia tests HYPERSONIC cruise missiles which travel at SIX times the speed of sound

The latest missiles will be rolled out in Russia’s fifth generation submarines.

Final testing of the advanced rockets is being conducted with Russian’s defence ministry set to give the green light to the project soon.

Russian Armed Forces to Adopt Hypersonic Missiles on Mass Scale

 

The development of hypersonic missiles in Russia and the United States currently stands at the same level, the CEO of Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation believes.

MOSCOW, January 19 (Sputnik) — The Russian Armed Forces will receive hypersonic missiles on mass scale in about 15 to 25 years, with the first prototypes to be created by 2020, CEO of Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation Boris Obnosov said in an interview with the “Defense of Russia” magazine.

China Conducts Third Flight Test of Hypersonic Strike Vehicle

Missile-launched Wu-14 glide vehicle designed for nuclear strike against U.S. through missile defenses

China conducted the third flight test of a new hypersonic missile this week as part of its strategic nuclear program and efforts to develop delivery vehicles capable of defeating U.S. countermeasures, defense officials said.

The flight test of the developmental Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle was monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies Tuesday during a flight test in western China.

The latest flight test followed earlier tests of the Wu-14 on Jan. 9 and Aug. 7. The three tests indicate that China’s development of a strike vehicle capable of traveling up to eight times the speed of sound is a high-priority element in China’s large-scale military buildup.

Shanghai to San Francisco in 100 minutes by Chinese supersonic submarine

With military application of this technology today, the world’s most powerful navies could be rendered useless. As so little is known about what the PLA, one of the most secretive militaries, they also might not be far off from even having one with military application. Some nations also fake test failures in order to lull their adversaries into a false sense of security.

 

 

China has moved a step closer to creating a supersonic submarine that could travel from Shanghai to San Francisco in less than two hours.

New technology developed by a team of scientists at Harbin Institute of Technology’s Complex Flow and Heat Transfer Lab has made it easier for a submarine, or torpedo, to travel at extremely high speeds underwater.

Li Fengchen, professor of fluid machinery and engineering, said the team’s innovative approach meant they could now create the complicated air “bubble” required for rapid underwater travel. “We are very excited by its potential,” he said.

Water produces more friction, or drag, on an object than air, which means conventional submarines cannot travel as fast as an aircraft.

However, during the cold war, the Soviet military developed a technology called supercavitation, which involves enveloping a submerged vessel inside an air bubble to avoid problems caused by water drag.