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.

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 anti-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 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.

© 2022, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.