According to researchers at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), its experimental missile can “morph” midflight to ensure maximum stability and control.
When its wings fold, the body becomes sleek and fast, slicing through air with minimal drag. When extended, the wings provide lift and maneuverability.
This approach reportedly addresses a core problem in hypersonic design, where speed often comes at the cost of control.
China New Hypersonic WeaponPrototype model of a morphing hypersonic missile with variable-geometry wings, shown with real-time control hardware during lab testing.
NUDT Professor Wang Peng is leading the project and was recently published in Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica journal.
Maintaining stability at hypersonic speeds means contending with temperatures above 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 degrees Fahrenheit) and crushing aerodynamic forces.
Under those conditions, air ionizes, metal softens, and every moving surface risks failure — challenges made even tougher by a shape-shifting airframe.
To address these problems, Wang’s team developed a real-time adaptive control system that constantly recalculates lift, drag, and stability as the wings move.
The design relies on high-order system modeling to predict behavior, paired with a “prescribed performance” framework that keeps flight responses within safe limits.
An advanced “super-twisting” sliding-mode control algorithm smooths out noise and vibration, preventing actuator damage during high-speed morphing.
The result is a system light enough to run on the compact, rugged processors typically found in missiles, bringing adaptive control closer to real-world use.
Nvidia chipset
Chinese researchers utilised a low-cost Nvidia Jetson TX2i chip to enhance the performance of a hypersonic weapon, specifically for real-time control of the scramjet engine. The module was used in a demonstration to show how it could perform complex computational fluid dynamics calculations much faster than before, which is ideal for tasks like fuel supply optimization and engine control at hypersonic speeds. While advanced Nvidia chips are restricted for sale to China due to export controls, the Jetson TX2i is an industrial-grade chip, not subject to the same restrictions, and was acquired through legitimate channels by the research team.
Nvidia Jetson TX2i, an industrial-grade AI chip designed for tasks like robotics and autonomous machines.
The chip was integrated into a hypersonic vehicle to perform real-time calculations for a scramjet engine, improving fuel supply control, fault diagnosis, and overall stability.
The chip’s processing speed allowed calculations that previously took seconds to be completed in just 25 milliseconds, a significant improvement for real-time control.
The Jetson TX2i is not subject to the same U.S. export restrictions as the most advanced AI chips, making it a more accessible option for researchers.
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