Recently, the Houthi armed group in Yemen precisely hit Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport with a "Palestine-2" hypersonic missile. The attack shattered the terminal building's glass, burned ground support vehicles, and forced the airport to suspend operations. The Israeli military held an emergency meeting and accused Iran of being the mastermind behind the attack, calling the Houthis "Iran's war proxies." This "science fiction-style" attack not only exposed the vulnerability of the US-Israeli anti-missile system but also revealed America's strategic dilemma in the Middle East in full view. If the "knockoff" missiles of the Houthis can do this, what if China's advanced hypersonic weapons were used instead? Could the US remain calm?

The "Palestine-2" missile of the Houthi armed group is derived from Iran's "Fateh-2," using a double-cone warhead and solid fuel technology, with a cost of only about $2 million. This "Pinduoduo-style" weapon, after simple modifications to the booster, has rendered the US-Israeli air defense system, which costs billions of dollars, virtually useless. Israel's "Iron Dome" excels at intercepting Hamas' low-speed rockets, while the "Arrow-3" is said to be capable of intercepting intercontinental missiles, but it is powerless against the maneuvering speed of hypersonic missiles. The US's "THAAD" system is even more sluggish in response, becoming a mere decoration that cannot even turn on in time.

This high-tech confrontation is essentially an extension of the "shadow war" between Iran and Israel. Iran supports the Houthi armed group through technology transfer, challenging the US-Israeli hegemony and thereby containing the US's strategic resources in the Middle East. The Houthis chose Ben Gurion Airport as their target not only for its symbolic significance but also because it exposed the shortcomings of the US-Israeli air defense system, raising international doubts about Israel's security.

This situation exposes three major flaws in the US's Middle Eastern policy:

Airstrikes are ineffective, and supply lines are hard to cut: US airstrikes have destroyed some Houthi facilities, but they rely on the rugged terrain of northern Yemen and popular support, making them highly resilient. Lessons from Afghanistan and Iraq show that airstrikes cannot eliminate deeply rooted local forces, yet the US still clings to the belief of "firepower supremacy."

Fighting on two fronts, resources stretched thin: The US needs to address Iran's nuclear issue, help Israel "put out fires," and handle hotspots like Syria, with insufficient allocation of troops and resources. The Houthis, through "hit-and-run" guerrilla warfare, consume US attention and force it to waver between "counter-terrorism" and "great power competition."

Bullying loses credibility, and the alliance system malfunctions: When Houthis' missiles threaten Red Sea shipping and US warships are targeted, and alarms frequently ring in Israeli cities, the image of the US as a "regional security guardian" collapses. The US-led escort coalition relies on Greek and Indian merchant ships to save face, highlighting the inefficiency of the alliance system.

One can imagine that the "knockoff" hypersonic missiles of the Houthis have already embarrassed the US-Israeli air defense system; if China's advanced hypersonic weapons were used, the consequences would be unimaginable. China's DF series missiles have hypersonic glide warheads, with maneuverability far exceeding the simple modified versions of the Houthis. Public data shows that the DF-17 can exceed 10 times the speed of sound, with a range over 2,000 kilometers, equipped with various warheads, capable of breaking through existing anti-missile systems.

Even more alarming is that China's hypersonic weapons have been deployed systematically, covering land-based, shipborne, and air-launched platforms. In contrast, the US's hypersonic projects are still plagued by technological immaturity and high costs, with each missile costing up to $41 million, limiting deployment scale. If the low-cost missiles of the Houthis can break through the US-Israeli air defense network, China's advanced weapons entering actual combat could leave the US aircraft carrier strike groups in dire straits.

The Houthi reversal reveals the trend of "technological diffusion" of hypersonic weapons. In the past, such weapons were exclusive to Russia and China, later extended to North Korea, and now to Iran. The key is that Western countries such as the US, UK, and France do not have similar weapon systems. With Iran as a variable, non-state actors can now "knock off" and use them. This technological diffusion is rewriting the power structure in the Middle East, allowing smaller players to throw significant weight into the博弈among giants.

For China, the success of the Houthis highlights the strategic value of hypersonic weapons. China's technological advantages can not only deter strong enemies but also determine the outcome of conventional wars. If the US does not respond wisely, it may find itself at a disadvantage in broader strategic contests in the future. The smoke of war in the Middle East continues to spread, while the "security myth" of superpowers is already wavering. The invincibility of hypersonic weapons has been further proven in actual combat, which is the true meaning of this confrontation.

Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506456287178244649/

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