China launches DF-17 hypersonic missile off Taiwan Strait
 

China launches DF-17 hypersonic missile off Taiwan Strait
By: Clement Charpentreau - Aerotime Hub News - 07-31-22
Re: https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/3...-taiwan-strait

Photo link on China Central TV: : https://www.aerotime.aero/upload/fil...g_launched.jpg

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a live-fire exercise near Pingtan Island, about 120 kilometers from the Taiwanese coast.

The exercise included the launch of a DF-17 hypersonic system from a land-based platform, as seen in a promotional video released ahead of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the PLA, on August 1, 2022.

Link China video link: https://youtu.be/9kAfFrlUBpA

The show of force also coincides with the potential visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island of Taiwan as part of a tour of the Indo-Pacific region. "Those who play with fire will eventually get burned," China’s president Xi Jinping reportedly told in reference to Taiwan during a call to his US counterpart Joe Biden, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The DF-17 is said to be China's first hypersonic glider weapon. After being launched by a medium-range solid-fuel ballistic missile, the DF-ZF glider reaches speeds greater than Mach 5 (over 6,000 kilometers per hour).

The PLA fields two hypersonic weapons, the DF-17 and the DF-21, a hypersonic anti-ship missile known as the CH-AS-X-13. A third hypersonic platform, a ship-launched anti-ship missile called the YJ-21, is currently under development.

Also: EASA warns debris of Chinese rocket may affect EU airspace?

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