Defeating an army without engaging in battle or causing casualties? This is possible if the ultra-advanced weapon proposed by a group of Chinese experts becomes a reality.
Designed to unleash a powerful electromagnetic pulse capable of wiping out communication and power lines, this weapon being pursued by a team of Chinese rocket engineers could have a range of 3,000 km, roughly the distance from China’s eastern coastline to the United States’ Guam Island. Traveling at speeds six times the speed of sound, it would cover that distance in just 25 minutes.
According to the research team at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, unlike ballistic missiles, this ultra-advanced weapon can remain within the Earth’s atmosphere to evade early warning systems in space, while employing active stealth technology to avoid detection by ground-based radar.
The new long-range hypersonic weapon proposed by rocket scientists in Beijing could wipe out communication and power lines over an area of 2 km. (Illustrative image: Shutterstock).
Scientist Sun Zheng from the institute stated that when this weapon detonates above its target area, it does not harm human life. Instead, the powerful electromagnetic waves it generates will burn out vital electronic equipment within the target’s information systems over a 2 km radius.
Previous electromagnetic weapons required a nuclear warhead to release magnetic energy, which limited their applicability. Sun’s team noted that their hypersonic electromagnetic weapon will use chemical explosives instead.
The chemical explosion will compress a charged magnet known as an “inductive compression generator”. This will convert shock wave energy into short but extremely powerful microwave bursts.
A non-nuclear electromagnetic bomb is typically heavy and bulky because it needs to carry a large battery to store enough electricity for detonation. Such bombs are usually dropped from aircraft.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted a group of U.S. Air Force experts stating that in 2017, Washington considered using a large cruise missile equipped with an electromagnetic warhead to incapacitate North Korea’s nuclear facilities. However, this plan was not implemented, partly due to concerns that North Korea could detect the missile and retaliate with nuclear weapons.
Scientist Sun Zheng and his colleagues mentioned that their new weapon has a significant advantage: the enemy will not know it is on its trajectory.
When an object moves through the air at high speed, air molecules are ionized by heat, forming a thin plasma layer on the object’s surface. This plasma cloak can absorb radar signals, but not all of them.
To achieve comprehensive stealth capabilities, the weapon designed by Sun’s team will convert ambient heat (typically above 1,000 degrees Celsius) into electrical energy and use that energy to power multiple plasma generators located at various points along the missile’s body.
A hypersonic technology researcher in Nanjing assessed the idea from the team at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology as feasible. According to this individual, thermal conversion and plasma generation technology have been used to reduce drag or control flight for hypersonic flights.
To achieve the lightweight necessary for hypersonic speeds, this weapon will not carry any type of battery. Instead, it will use supercapacitors with energy density 20 times that of batteries. These capacitors will be charged during flight, using energy from thermal generators converted into electricity.
The research team stated: “It can release 95% of its energy in just 10 seconds, suitable for instantaneous electric discharges to cause electromagnetic damage.”
They noted that the active stealth electromagnetic weapon is based on energy regeneration, aligning with the current trend of immediate warfare, intense confrontation, and multidimensional information disruption.
Notably, this weapon is still in the conceptual stage. However, researchers are confident that with the continuous emergence of devices and testing technologies, it will play a fundamental role in China’s next-generation weapon systems.
