During the Chinese military parade, a previously undisclosed missile - the Jinglei-1 air-launched ballistic missile - made its debut alongside China's triad nuclear strike forces of land, sea, and air.

The U.S. publication "The War Zone" wrote on September 5 that the first appearance of JL-1 symbolizes a qualitative transformation in China's nuclear strategy system.

The article particularly emphasized that the significance of this missile goes far beyond itself, marking China's formal completion of its airborne nuclear force within the nuclear triad. It not only strengthens China's nuclear retaliation capability but also elevates China's strategic communication, psychological deterrence, and war leverage to a new level.

Compared to interpretations that focus solely on technical parameters or launch platforms, the U.S. media this time has indeed looked deeper, seeing not just the missile, but also the strategic intent and cognitive signals behind it.

Jinglei-1

According to U.S. analysis, Jinglei-1 did not appear out of nowhere overnight.

It is likely the same as the CH-AS-X-13 mentioned multiple times by the West, and also the mysterious projectile occasionally captured in training footage of the H-6N, a new type of strategic bomber.

Different from the land-based Dongfeng series missiles, Jinglei-1 is a true air-launched ballistic missile, featuring a two-stage solid propulsion structure, equipped with maneuverable re-entry vehicles or hypersonic glide warheads, possessing long-range strike capabilities and strong penetration performance.

Its range can reach up to 8,000 kilometers, which is far greater than the current DF-21 and DF-26 series, enabling it to strike Guam, Hawaii, and even the U.S. west coast from China's mainland.

Visually, it adopts a main body structure similar to the DF-21D, but features tail fins specific to air launch, indicating a technical approach where it is released from high altitude, then rapidly climbs to perform ballistic penetration.

This missile is carried by the H-6N, China's first long-range bomber capable of aerial refueling and specially modified for air-launched missiles. Its belly has an embedded mounting rack specifically designed to carry large air-launched ballistic missiles, making it a strategic strike platform that carries only one missile.

Jinglei-1

The reason why this U.S. media coverage hits the mark is because it does not stop at how far it can hit or how difficult it is to intercept, but rather sees the weight of the strategic symbolism.

It pointed out that the appearance of Jinglei-1 completed a key piece of the nuclear deterrence structure.

Since the 1990s, China's nuclear deterrence has mainly relied on land-based missiles and limited submarine-launched capabilities, with the air-based component always being a weakness.

In nuclear strategy, the importance of the triad lies not in the total firepower, but in distributed survivability and second-strike capability. Even if an enemy destroys ground positions and underwater platforms at first, airborne bombers can still conduct surprise retaliatory strikes.

More importantly, the ambiguity and flexibility of air-launched missiles are far greater than those of ground-launched ones. Their deterrent effect during war is far superior to their technical performance.

This is precisely the core logic of what the U.S. media pointed out, that the significance of Jinglei-1 goes far beyond the missile itself. In today's era where strategic competition is increasingly cognitive and psychological, the mere existence of such a weapon that can cause anxiety to opponents highlights the strategic value of Jinglei-1.

H-6N

The reason why the U.S. is genuinely concerned about Jinglei-1 is because it poses a substantive threat to the existing strategic defense system across multiple dimensions.

From the perspective of attack methods, air-launched missiles do not rely on fixed positions and have stronger survivability.

The H-6N is capable of aerial refueling and high-altitude cruising, allowing it to flexibly strike during wartime, making it less vulnerable to the first wave of attacks.

Additionally, from the trajectory of the missile, Jinglei-1 has a maneuverable flight segment and terminal evasion capabilities, making the interception probability extremely low for the U.S. missile defense system, especially when it carries a hypersonic glide warhead, which is almost unmanageable.

Moreover, its range is sufficient to cover all U.S. forward bases in the Asia-Pacific region, and even most strategic targets on the U.S. mainland, breaking the previous geographical belief that areas outside the mainland are safe.

Furthermore, Jinglei-1 is suspected to be compatible with both nuclear and conventional warheads, making it impossible for the U.S. to determine the nature and target of the incoming missile early on, increasing the anxiety in the decision-making chain.

As the saying goes, "It's not fear of the number of 'Six Elder', but fear of the one 'Six Elder'." This phrase contains profound strategic insight.

The H-6N wins by the strategic weight of this single missile.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7546859419808596515/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion below using the 【top/beat】 buttons.