Have you ever seen a missile that can "transform"? Not by exploding, but by twisting and changing shape in the air! This scene sounds like a Hollywood sci-fi movie, but now it has become a reality in China.

Recently, the National University of Defense Technology of China secretly revealed a "super prototype": a missile that can fly at over 6,000 kilometers per hour (5 times the speed of sound), and the most shocking part is that it can change its aerodynamic shape during flight!

In simple terms, this thing has realized the ultimate goal that global military powers have pursued for decades. It's not only fast enough to make anti-missile systems unable to catch up, but also flexible enough to make it impossible for you to guess what it will do next. Many countries can make missiles that fly fast, but why is China's "transforming" missile making the Pentagon so uneasy?

Ordinary hypersonic missiles (such as the previous DF-17): They are fast, but their shapes are fixed. Imagine it as an arrow shot out, and its trajectory is hard to predict. Theoretically, the anti-missile system can only have a small interception window at the end.

China's "transforming" hypersonic missile: It's like a flying "acrobat". During cruise: It retracts its wings, turning into a thin, long "arrow", minimizing drag and flying two thousand kilometers in one go. As it approaches the target: Its wings instantly unfold, using lift to make an "S-shaped sharp turn" or "high-altitude jump".

This is a problem! When the enemy's radar and interceptors (such as the US "Aegis") just lock onto its position, it suddenly changes direction! The computer of the defense system can't recalculate in time. This effectively shortens the interception time from "minutes" to "seconds". Flying at 5 Mach speeds, the temperature caused by atmospheric friction exceeds 1000°C, which is high enough to melt most traditional metals.

The strength of this "transforming" missile lies in its use of China's exclusive high-temperature composite materials (carbon-carbon or ceramic composites) and AI-controlled micro-motors, which not only withstand high temperatures but can also perform "transformation" operations with precision within milliseconds.

In simpler terms: This is not just a piece of metal, but a "super material" that can withstand the temperature of a steel furnace and dynamically assemble like Lego blocks. Behind this, it's a comprehensive dominance in material science, artificial intelligence, and supersonic engineering in China.

This "transforming" weapon has far-reaching implications for international situations, even saying that it redefines war deterrence. The emergence of this missile has completely upgraded China's coastal defense capabilities (A2/AD). It means: Whether it's an aircraft carrier battle group or a command center, they face threats from "multi-axis" and "high-mobility" directions.

Previously, those strategies that relied on "predicting the route and intercepting in advance" have basically been declared ineffective.

Especially for the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, this is not only a military force, but also a "punishment-based deterrence". Any movement you make, I can carry out precise strikes at the fastest possible speed and angle that you cannot intercept.

Although the United States previously had hypersonic projects, they all failed due to the fundamental technical difficulties and overheating problems, even being canceled. China, relying on the "national system" and top testing environment (such as the JF-22 wind tunnel that can simulate 30 Mach), achieved a technological "overtaking". This has greatly delayed the Western countries' combat preparation time.

Summary: China's "transforming" missile has advanced hypersonic technology from the "functional" stage to the "unsolvable" stage. This is not just a speed race, but a mental competition of who can control the flexible combination of speed and form.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569850585990578729/

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