China has surpassed the United States in developing operational scramjet-powered hypersonic missiles with its long-range CJ-1000 system. The road-mobile weapon, unveiled at Beijing’s Victory Day parade, represents the world’s first land-based scramjet missile now in service.
The CJ-1000 missile, analyzed in the February issue of Shipborne Weapons magazine, marks China’s transition from following to leading in advanced aerospace domains. Alongside the ship-launched YJ-19, it is one of only three operational scramjet-driven hypersonic missiles globally, joining Russia’s Zircon.
Scramjet engines represent a more difficult technological path than glider vehicles like China’s DF-17 or Russia’s Avangard. The CJ-1000 cruises at 20 to 30 kilometers altitude, much lower than glider vehicles that fly at 60 to 80 kilometers. For enemy radar, lower flight means harder detection and response time.
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China developed the CJ-1000 through massive investment, scientifically sound testing methods, and strong industry-academic-research collaboration. The US first demonstrated scramjet flight in 1998 and achieved sustained operation in 2013, but its Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile project now lags behind China’s deployment.
The missile renders conventional air defense systems “powerless” according to the analysis. With the scramjet engine working throughout cruise and terminal phases, it offers greater maneuverability and precision than unpowered glider vehicles that rely on inertia during final approach. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense may be the only US system with limited interception ability against such threats.
In a vertical cold launch, a solid rocket booster accelerates the missile to Mach 4 at 20 kilometers altitude. After stage separation, the scramjet ignites and propels it to Mach 6 at 28 kilometers for sustained cruise. Mounted on a highly mobile 10-wheel hybrid transporter, the CJ-1000 carries more fuel and explosives than ship-based variants due to fewer size constraints.
The missile’s estimated range of at least 2,500 kilometers covers most critical ground targets in Japan and the Philippines, plus Pacific waters between the first and second island chains. The first island chain runs from the Kuril Islands through Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines to Borneo. The second includes Guam, home to US military installations.
America may improve detection through space-based sensors under the Golden Dome project and is developing the Glide Phase Interceptor with Japan against cruising scramjets. But these countermeasures could take years to field, the article notes.
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The magazine attributes America’s delay to poorly structured project planning, disorganized management, and lack of firm conviction among senior leadership. Meanwhile, China’s resolute national-level support enabled its leap ahead. “By the time potential adversaries field countermeasures several years from now, China’s air-breathing hypersonic missiles may have already evolved to a new level,” the analysis concludes.
