Taiwan Develops Hypersonic Cruise Missile with Range of Over 2000 km
4 January, 2025 The launch of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship cruise missile. Photo credits: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Taiwan has developed a new hypersonic cruise missile with a range of over 2000 km.
This is reported by Liberty Time Net. The Ministry of National Defense officially announced the start of mass production of the new Yun Feng 2 (????) hypersonic cruise missile on December 27, 2024. The missile was developed by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense Research and Development Institute and is expected to begin entering service with the Army in the near future.
A Hsiung Feng III anti-ship cruise missile.
Photo credits: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense
The system is designed to be used from mobile launchers, which will significantly increase maneuverability and preserve operational capabilities in combat. For this purpose, it is planned to use a specialized Czech 12-wheeled Tatra Force chassis with integrated fire control systems. The project to introduce mobile launchers is being developed in close cooperation with the Czech company, but as an alternative, the possibility of cooperation with the American company Oshkosh, which offers the M983 platform, is also being considered.
A special 6-axle Tatra Force platform.
Photo credits: Tatra
According to the representatives of the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense, these mobile launchers will reduce the time for deploying missile systems on the battlefield and increase the efficiency of their use in the conditions of high threat from the enemy. The Yun Feng 2 hypersonic missile is developed on the basis of the already mass-produced Yun Feng 1 cruise missile, which is a hypersonic missile with a range of approximately 1200 to 2000 km. The new missile has a maximum speed of Mach 6, making it a difficult to intercept target for Chinese air defense systems.
The test launch of the Yun Feng 1 cruise missile.
Photo credits: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense
Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the United States had allocated £567 million dollars for Taiwan's defense needs.
Yun Feng 1 cruise missile
The Yun Feng 1 is a hypersonic cruise missile for striking ground targets, developed by the Zhongshan Institute of Science and Technology and has a range of about 1200-2000 kilometers. It is equipped with a rocket engine with an accelerator capable of reaching speeds of up to 1030 m/s. The missile can bear a warhead with semi-armor-piercing explosive and fragmentation munitions.
In August 2019, mass production of the Yun Feng missile began, with an initial order for 20 missiles and 10 mobile launchers.
The missile is also being modernized for use as a satellite launch vehicle.
It will be capable of launching satellites weighing 50 to 200 kilograms into low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 500 kilometers.