Chinese scientists and engineers are developing a smart, ultra-small hypersonic glide missile that can be fired from an 80mm (3.4-inch) anti-aircraft gun.
Upon leaving the barrel, the missile reaches a speed close to Mach 6, far faster than a conventional anti-aircraft shell.
This allows it to strike fighter jets or drones more than 20km (12 miles) away, even at altitudes around 10,000 metres (32,800 feet).
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Because of its tremendous speed and small size, an enemy aircraft may only detect the missile when it is about 3km away, leaving just seconds to react.
By then, the missile would still be travelling at Mach 3.6.
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Computer simulations show that even if a target makes a near-90-degree turn, the missile can adjust its trajectory and achieve a 99 per cent kill probability.
A typical anti‑aircraft gun can fire roughly once per second. With low cost and near‑unlimited supply, these systems could rewrite the rules of warfare if deployed widely to replace medium- and short-range air defence missiles.
