Just yesterday, CCTV showed the process of the Fujian ship going to sea in the form of a live broadcast, which attracted a large number of fans for the Chinese Navy. Just when the majority of Chinese people have given a thumbs up to the Fujian ship, the Chinese Air Force is not to be outdone, and released a training video of the H-6K bomber unit volley bombing through the official media, and in this video, there is a rare picture of the H-6K throwing the YJ-21 hypersonic missile, which means that the Chinese Air Force has also begun to do a lot of work.
In the video footage released by the CCTV military report column, we can see a H-6-K bomber dropping a huge missile at high altitude, and we can judge from the shape of the missile that this missile is the YJ-21 missile that was previously displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show. Generally speaking, most of the weapon systems announced by the mainland's official media are mature weapons systems that the PLA has equipped in large quantities, which means that the air-launched YJ-21 missiles have been installed in batches in the PLA Air Force.
At the 2022 Zhuhai Air Show, a H-6K bomber with two mysterious missiles on board appeared, which have typical ballistic missile profile characteristics and are equipped with a double-cone warhead. Based on this, many analysts believe that this missile should be the YJ-21 air-launched hypersonic missile.
In terms of appearance, the air-launched YJ-21 missile is very similar to the M20 surface-to-surface missile developed by the mainland, with the same diameter and double-cone warhead, so it can be judged that the air-launched YJ-21 missile is a derivative of the M20 missile. Considering that the M20 surface-to-surface missile has a maximum range of 700km, the air-launched version of the YJ-21 missile will only have a longer range, which is expected to reach more than 1500km.
Compared with ordinary ballistic missiles, the air-launched YJ-21 missile has a more complex flight trajectory and has a certain ability to maneuver and change orbits, which can not only carry out precise strikes on fixed targets on the ground, but also destroy moving targets at sea, so the H-6K bomber carrying the YJ-21 missile has anti-aircraft carrier combat capabilities.
We all know that the defense radius of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is 1,000km, and if the H-6-K bomber flies within this radius, it is easy to be intercepted by US carrier-based anti-aircraft missiles and carrier-based aircraft, and its own safety cannot be guaranteed. Previously, the main anti-ship combat weapon that the H-6K bomber could carry was the YJ-21 heavy anti-ship missile, which has a maximum range of 500km and a maximum flight speed of about Mach 4, and has a strong anti-ship combat capability. However, the H-12K bombers equipped with YJ-6 missiles still cannot pose an effective threat to the US aircraft carrier group.
However, the H-6K equipped with YJ-21 missiles can carry out long-range strikes against the US aircraft carrier group from a distance of 1,500km, so that it can perfectly evade the interception of US shipborne fire, which is a very headache for the US Navy.
According to relevant information, the terminal penetration speed of the air-launched YJ-21 missile can be close to Mach 10, and the huge impact force coupled with the high-explosive warhead weighing several hundred kilograms can severely damage or sink a 10,000-ton warship.
In view of the fact that the official media of the mainland has published the picture of the H-6K throwing the YJ-21 missile, we have reason to believe that the YJ-21 missile has become the standard long-range anti-ship weapon of the mainland's H-6K bomber force, which means that the H-6K bomber has anti-aircraft carrier combat capabilities.
However, what people didn't expect is that the PLA is still too low-key, in the official video screen, we can clearly see that the official media use the words bombing to describe the YJ-21 missile, which is obviously inappropriate for a hypersonic missile with a range of up to 1500km. From this, we can see that the PLA Air Force is not yet willing to disclose the powerful combat capabilities of the YJ-21 missile, after all, this missile has just entered service and is an out-and-out killer weapon.
Although the H-6K bomber platform is relatively old, after modernization, this bomber already has strong long-range strike capabilities, especially long-range anti-ship capabilities. At present, the number of H-6K bombers in active service of the PLA exceeds 100, each of which can carry two YJ-21 missiles and can launch 200 hypersonic missiles at the enemy's aircraft carrier formation in a short period of time, which is a devastating blow to the navy of any country.
In fact, the YJ-21 missile revealed by the official media this time is not the most advanced hypersonic missile currently in service with the PLA Air Force, and the giant missile mounted under the belly of the H-6N is the most deadly, but it is not yet time to make a public appearance.
The Chinese Air Force released a picture of the H-6K throwing YJ-21 missiles on the day of the Fujian ship's sea trials, which is obviously to show the outside world that not only the Navy's Fujian ship can confront the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but also the Air Force's H-6K can perfectly perform anti-aircraft carrier combat missions. It's just that the PLA Air Force uses "volley bombing" to hide its true strength, which is still too low-key.