Time： 2024-08-18  韦克威科技

China tests orbital bombers with hypersonic nuclear warheads?

Has China developed a orbital bomber? Still carrying hypersonic nuclear warheads?

It may seem like a science fiction scene, but in reality, it was reported by the British media Financial Times.

The report stated that in August of this year, China launched a hypersonic spacecraft capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and flying around the Earth, which has a flight speed far exceeding that of current bombers. It can orbit the Earth and enter and attack targets from any direction, rendering the National Missile Defense system, which is highly concentrated in one direction, ineffective.

In short, this is the legendary orbital bomber, also known as the orbital bomber or orbital bombing system.

Orbital bomber refers to a type of space-based weapon that travels in a suborbital state and can carry nuclear weapons, space-based kinetic energy weapons, high-energy laser weapons, beam weapons, etc.

Due to its operation in space, it is not affected by air resistance and can quickly maneuver over the target for long-range direct strikes. Moreover, the altitude of its secondary orbit is generally beyond the range of all conventional air defense missiles, and it does not have a fixed orbit like satellites. Therefore, traditional orbit based anti satellite weapons are difficult to work against it.

The orbital bomber is considered one of the best means of future strategic deterrence, combining the long range and large payload of ordinary strategic bombers with excellent survivability, good concealment, good maneuverability, and high success rate of strikes.

During the Cold War, many countries attempted to develop orbital bombers, such as the former Soviet Union's experiment with "partial orbital bombers". However, compared to ordinary ballistic missiles, the technical difficulty is too great, and the impact on strategic balance is enormous, which can easily lead to a situation of mutual harm, so it has not been further developed.

Since the 1990s, the United States has invested heavily in researching space rapid response combat systems and trans atmospheric vehicles. In recent years, there have also been media reports that China is developing similar combat systems.

In 2011, the media reported that the Chinese "Shenlong" spaceplane had successfully completed a test flight. The "Shenlong" is a demonstration prototype of a major aviation special project's cross atmospheric aircraft. The test flight of the "Shenlong" was conducted in the same month as the return of the US "X-37B" to Earth, which has attracted much attention from Western media and military experts.

In September 2013, foreign military forums reported that China's "Aotian-1" spacecraft had conducted a flight test. American media speculated that the "Aotian-1" spacecraft may be very similar to the American Dreamchaser spacecraft, proving that China is the only country that can catch up with the United States in the field of trans atmospheric aircraft.

This year, according to the latest report from the Financial Times, China has successfully tested hypersonic orbital bombers.

This aircraft combines the high speed of traditional ballistic missiles with the flexible maneuverability of bombers, and its testing caught US intelligence agencies and missile defense forces off guard.

Traditional ballistic missiles, due to limitations in control capabilities, generally fly towards their targets along a relatively fixed shortest flight path, and have very limited maneuverability, making them easy to detect, track, and even intercept.

Therefore, the United States has specifically arranged launch sites for its national missile defense system in Alaska and California, allowing it to launch interception missiles in the direction of China and Russia. Of course, due to limitations such as the number of interceptors, this interception system cannot actually prevent a large number of ballistic missiles from attacking.

Now, with the emergence of China's hypersonic wave body orbital bombers that can fly around the world and use aerodynamic design to gain additional lift and maneuverability control capabilities, the deployment plan of the United States has immediately fallen through - orbital bombers can fly around the world and launch attacks from any direction, such as bypassing the southern hemisphere and flying along routes that cannot be covered by the US missile defense system, which immediately renders the existing US system meaningless.

Due to this experiment breaking several costly national security defense plans of the United States, it raises a huge question: why does the United States often underestimate China's military modernization, leading to the United States falling behind China militarily?

However, the Financial Times also pointed out that the weapon launched by this aircraft ultimately deviated from the target by about 38 kilometers.

Why are you exaggerating so much in the Financial Times with so many deviations?

Since the beginning of this year, the United States has repeatedly issued warnings about China's "continuously increasing nuclear capabilities", especially after satellite images showed that China was building more than 200 intercontinental missile launch pits. US military leaders have repeatedly stated that they cannot gain an advantage along the East Asian coast.

Later it was proven that those missile launch shafts were just the foundation of wind power plants.

The United States has also attempted to restrict China to arms control agreements, but China has pointed out that the United States should proactively adjust its nuclear arsenal and military policies.

US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has hinted that China is developing a new weapon. He stated that China has made significant progress, including the possibility of a global strike... which could come from space. He refused to provide details, but hinted that China is developing something similar to the "orbital bombing system" deployed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It's still this Kendall, who claimed right after taking office that he wanted to use advanced technology to "make China feel scared". He said that the US Air Force is still developing a series of confidential plans, "but most of them cannot be disclosed to the public".

Vice Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Wang Wei, responded positively to Kendall during the Zhuhai Air Show:

The Chinese Air Force has the ability and confidence to defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Recently, a foreign colleague claimed to make the Chinese Air Force feel fearful. Alright, as long as you're not afraid, let's meet up in the clouds

It can be seen that the Western world is in a state of precision while shouting threats from China. The Financial Times' exaggerated coverage of China's orbital bombers is somewhat true and truly raises doubts.

Source: Military Black Technology