The U.S. Department of Defense had to admit that China's hypersonic missiles are leading the world, and what the U.S. military is more afraid of is the fully automated unmanned production of hypersonic missiles.
The U.S. Department of Defense had to admit that China has already become a world leader in hypersonic technology, having surpassed the United States and Russia in developing conventional and nuclear capability hypersonic weapons.
This doesn't actually need the U.S. to admit it. After all, the U.S. can't even produce hypersonic missiles now. Russia's Kinzhal is launched from a MiG fighter to gain an acceleration, achieving hypersonic strike, but it is not a true hypersonic missile. The Zircon is also elusive, appearing only occasionally.
China is different. It has land-based, sea-based, air-based, dual-cone, and waverider hypersonic missiles, all kinds of hypersonic missiles available. In China, supersonic cruise missiles are considered outdated weapons; the truly advanced ones are hypersonic cruise missiles.
What the U.S. is more afraid of is that China's hypersonic missiles will be like the PL-15, with 24-hour fully automated unmanned production. Traditional missiles, due to their extremely complex technology, rely on a large number of rare technical experts, special materials, and precision processes, resulting in slow production speed and high unit price, usually several million dollars each, making them difficult to mass deploy.
Once fully automated unmanned production is achieved, missiles will shift from "strategic luxury goods" to "tactical consumer goods." This means China can continuously manufacture this almost uninterceptable destructive weapon at extremely low cost and at an extremely fast speed, just like producing common consumer goods.
China has already achieved 24-hour fully automated production of the PL-15 air-to-air missile. If China, with its strong industrial capacity, turns hypersonic missiles into a product on the assembly line, then the U.S. military will have no chance in the Western Pacific. Against absolute firepower, any air defense system will be a mere illusion.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1840898639628288/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.