The US, China, Russia, and other countries developing the new line of advanced weaponry are after the maneuverability and speed so that they can hit targets not just with high impact force and precision.

Guided ballistic missiles offer the military more control over its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. As the name suggests, boost-glide missiles glide toward the at high speeds. Hypersonic cruise missiles have engines that propel them towards the target remaining in the Earth’s atmosphere. However, this comes with significant design challenges. The skin of the missiles becomes superheated from friction melting the internal electronics; at these high speeds, an envelope of plasma forms around the missile that blocks the reception of navigation guidance signals to correct the missile in flight. A recent test by the Chinese of a hypersonic missile that missed the target by more than two dozen miles was probably due to the problem of penetrating the plasma envelope with guidance signals not yet being solved by their engineers.

Chinese Defector Developed Hypersonic Boost-Glide Missile

The defector in question, who was not named by any reports to protect his identity, helped develop a mid-range hypersonic boost-glide vehicle for the recently developed Dongfeng-17 (DF-17). This medium-range ballistic missile uses the DF-ZF Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, which gives China an upper hand in trajectory as it can reach 2,500 kilometers away from its launch site. The Russians have a similar glide vehicle, the Avangard.

In September 2021, the Chinese defector contacted the British via the government in Hong Kong, which then contacted MI6 at Vauxhall Cross. He offered the top-secret information of the Chinese hypersonic boost-glide missile in exchange for asylum for him and his family. Apparently, the defector was passed on for a promotion, which led to his dissatisfaction with the Communist Party in Beijing.

Working jointly with the MI6 and the CIA, the two government agencies verified the defector’s identity and information before he was green-lighted to seek asylum in the United States. He was also able to smuggle vital technical data required to build these hypersonic weapons.

These developments are quite a coup for the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of the learning capability and development phases of both Chinese and Russian hypersonic missiles. The information will be valuable in developing countermeasures and even electronic countermeasures to defeat them in flight.