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[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] China's state-run Global Times reported on the 4th that the medium-to-long-range strategic bomber H-6K equipped with air-launched ballistic missiles will be showcased at the '2022 Zhuhai Airshow (China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition)'. The Zhuhai Airshow is an event held biennially in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province (November 8?13), where the latest technologies in China's aviation and aerospace sectors can be gauged.

Photo by Global Times capture

The Global Times stated that the strategic bomber H-6K owned by China has arrived in Zhuhai, and that the Chinese Air Force will present the strategic bomber H-6K equipped with two air-launched ballistic missiles (Air-Launched Ballistic Missile) at this airshow. It also introduced that this is the first time the Chinese Air Force is showcasing the strategic bomber H-6K equipped with air-launched ballistic missiles.

The Chinese Air Force has previously revealed the strategic bomber H-6K equipped with subsonic cruise missiles and supersonic missiles.

The Global Times reported that it is not confirmed exactly which missile this is, but it could be a weapon similar to Russia's hypersonic missile Kinzhal. Russia developed and deployed the Kinzhal in 2019, which is undetectable by the US ballistic missile defense system.

Chinese military expert Song Zhongping said, "The missile mounted on the H-6K bomber looks similar in appearance to Russia's hypersonic missile Kinzhal," adding, "There is a possibility that this new missile is hypersonic." He further stated, "This missile can strike not only stationary targets but also moving targets such as aircraft carriers." This refers to an Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) or an air-launched ballistic missile.

ASBMs are evaluated as difficult for aircraft carriers to defend against due to their descent speed reaching Mach 15. China is already known to have deployed an ASBM called the DF-21D. The DF-21D is reported to have a range of 2,000 km. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the missile mounted on the strategic bomber H-6K is an improved version with an extended range of the DF-21D. Considering that the H-6 series strategic bombers have a flight range of around 6,000 km, it would make it difficult for the US 7th Fleet aircraft carriers to approach China closely.

It is also possible that China developed the air-launched ballistic missile to compensate for the shortcoming of its strategic bombers, which cannot perform long-range flights.

The Global Times, citing experts, emphasized that air-launched ballistic missiles fired from the air have longer ranges than ground-launched ballistic missiles, and that intercepting ballistic missiles launched from bombers in the air is difficult.

The media also reported that the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, modified to enable aerial refueling, will be showcased during this airshow.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.