DF-ZF

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DF-ZF / WU-14
Chinese Hypersonic Gliding Vehicle.jpg
Type: Hypersonic speed - weapon system
Design country:

China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China

Manufacturer:

10th Research Institute (also known as the “ Near Space Flight Vehicle Research Institute ”), a subdivision of the Chinese Academy of Information Technology in the Space Industry

First flight:

January 9, 2014

Commissioning:

(presumably) early 2016

DF-IF , and WU-14 , is a Chinese hypersonic speed -Gleitfluggerät (HGV hypersonic glide vehicle ), which made its maiden flight on January 9, 2014. The first two letters WU were probably an abbreviation for Wuzhai , a region in China. The aircraft has since been renamed "DF-ZF", Dongfeng -ZF.

history

On January 15, 2014, the flight observed by US satellites was confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Defense in a two-sentence message that was faxed to news agencies and state media. The launch of the DF-ZF up to the operational height of the ramjet engine of 100 km was most likely carried out as a payload at the tip of a ballistic missile (such as a Dongfeng-21 or Dongfeng 31 ). With the WU-14, ranges of up to 2900 km and flight speeds of around Mach 10 (around 12,000 km / h) were demonstrated.

The conservative American website The Washington Free Beacon reported that China was the third nation after Russia (first Scramjet GLL Cholod , first flight in 1991) and the USA ( Boeing X-51 Waverider , first flight on May 26, 2010) to be the third nation to successfully achieve hypersonic speeds -I tested aircraft capable of transporting nuclear warheads at speeds above Mach 10. The website also reported on the Yu-71 hypersonic glider ( project 4202 ), the appearance of which is similar to the DF-ZF and is currently being developed in Russia to circumvent the planned US missile shield . Brazil , India and Germany are also working on aircraft based on the functional principle of a ramjet engine / scramjet.

Intended use

The combination of DF-ZF + DF-21D = ASBM (Anti Ship Ballistic Missile) is referred to by the Pentagon as a “carrier killer”. Aircraft carriers are the backbone of the United States Navy . The ASBM weapon system would be one of the first to be able to use land-based launchers to destroy aircraft carrier formations.

Due to its high speed, an HGV is theoretically a lot less sensitive to missile defense than other re-entry vehicles (such as ballistic missiles ). Another aspect that contributes to the battlefield survivability (i.e. the successful execution of the mission) is the maneuverability of an HGV after re-entry or (if the atmosphere is not left) during the entire flight.

Missile defense measures in place to date, such as the Standard Missile 3 of the US armed forces, are too slow to be intercepted. That is why more research and development in the field of direct energy weapons (e.g. by laser , maser , particle beam or sound ) is being discussed.

Previous known tests

test date status Notes and reference
1 0January 9, 2014 Successfully
2 07th August 2014 Failed Crashed in Inner Mongolia, in the Otog Banner district. A not inconsiderable amount of rocket fuel leaked (probably UDMH and nitrous tetroxide ). For reasons of confidentiality, no photos were taken of the DF-ZF missile, only the DF-21D launcher.
3 02nd December 2014 Successfully
4th 0June 7, 2015 Successfully
5 19th August 2015 Successfully
6th 23rd November 2015 Successfully
7th April 29, 2016 Successfully

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erika Solem, Karen Montague: Updated - Chinese Hypersonic Weapons Development. In: The Jamestown Foundation, China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: April 7, 21, 2016, accessed May 20, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b Bill Gertz: China Conducts First Test of New Ultra-High Speed ​​Missile Vehicle. In: Washington Free Beacon. January 13, 2014, accessed July 25, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Felix Lee, Wolfgang Greber: China tests hyper-fast missiles. In: DiePresse.com. January 16, 2014, accessed July 25, 2014 .
  4. ^ Bill Gertz: China Shows New Intermediate-Range Missile Capable of Targeting Ships. In: Washington Free Beacon. September 4, 2015, accessed October 17, 2014 .
  5. ↑ China confirms hypersonic missile carrier test. In: Reuters. January 15, 2014, accessed July 25, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Michael Haas: Austrian workshop on missile defense 2014 - Organizational influencing factors and the missile programs of the PRC. (PDF) In: bundesheer.at. Federal Ministry of Defense, February 19, 2014, accessed on November 9, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Bill Gertz: Russia Tested Hypersonic Glide Vehicle in February. In: Washington Free Beacon. June 25, 2015, accessed June 29, 2015 .
  8. ↑ WU-14 Dong Feng-21D (DF-21D) / CSS-5 Mod 5 Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM). In: GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved October 22, 2015 .
  9. ↑ DAVID LAGUE, BENJAMIN KANG LIM, WEIYI CAI, HAN HUANG, SIMON SCARR, CHRISTIAN INTON: THE CHINA CHALLENGE - Rocket Man. In: reuters.com. April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Bradley Perrett, Bill Sweetman, Michael Fabey: US Navy Sees Chinese HGV As Part Of Wider Threat. In: Aviation Week. January 27, 2014, accessed July 25, 2014 .
  11. ↑ 中国 航天 发射 物 坠落 腾起 毒 蘑菇云 (组图). In: www.backchina.com. August 9, 2014, Retrieved April 28, 2016 (Chinese).
  12. ^ Bill Gertz: China Secretly Conducts Second Flight Test Of New Ultra High-Speed ​​Missile. In: Washington Free Beacon. August 19, 2014, accessed October 13, 2015 .
  13. ^ Bill Gertz: China Conducts Third Flight Test of Hypersonic Strike Vehicle. In: Washington Free Beacon. December 4, 2014, accessed October 13, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Bill Gertz: China Conducts Fourth Test of Wu-14 Strike Vehicle. In: Washington Free Beacon. June 11, 2015, accessed October 13, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Bill Gertz: China Conducts Fifth Test of Hypersonic Glide Vehicle. In: Washington Free Beacon. August 21, 2015, accessed October 13, 2015 .
  16. ^ Bill Gertz: China Again Tests Nuclear Hypersonic Missile. In: Washington Free Beacon. November 25, 2015, accessed November 27, 2015 .
  17. ↑ Richard D Fisher Jr: US officials confirm sixth Chinese hypersonic maneuvering strike vehicle test. In: janes.com. November 27, 2015, accessed December 12, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Matt Cox: China's Hypersonic Glider Passes New Test. In: defensetech.org. May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017 .