China is Rushing a Hypersonic RBCC/TBCC Aircraft. Something Seems to Have Freaked Them Out.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: anzha

China has been positioning itself to be a superpower. It can't be that if it doesn't have the same detergents as Russia and the US.

Also, unpopular opinion... I think Russia starts to take China seriously before us.

Former ex-pat here with many years of experience of China.

China VERY specifically does not want to be a military super power. It sees sees military force as being the tool of foreign imperialism which it believes itself to be the victim of. Saying that China wants to be a military super power shows a singular lack of understanding of China. It's like saying that Israel wants to put Iranian in labor camps.

China seeks influence through economics not military power.

This hypersonic technology isn't new, and it most certainly isn't a flip out.

China is simply presenting technology that it has been making for quite sometime but it now feels that it is a good time to make it public because it seems less threatening to do so. If everybody else has it, then it is acceptable to say that it has it too.

a reply to: AaarghZombies

Your POV is worth discussing, but I am afraid a lot of the underlying discussion about China and its goals its OT for this forum. If you can suggest another on ATS where it would be appropriate, then I'd be happy to have it with you. I think you will find we have wildly differing views on China's ambitions.

As for the hypersonic aspects, you're missing a lot of the context here. This isn't some tech from 30 years ago. This is something China is pushing hard to have in the air shortly and they have only been working on for a short time. From nothing more than a bench engine to a flying demonstrator in 5 years is...something of urgency in the defense world, in China or anywhere.

China realises that its best bet is to slowly bide its time, not spend money on overly massive defence purchases today but rather put big dollars into closing the technological (the already rapidly narrowing) gap with the West, purchasing a handful of high priority weapons systems and then training so they understand how to operate them in real world situations. All China has to do is wait another 30-50 years - seems along time but really the blink of an eye in the lie of the world - whilst it slowly raises its GDP per capital to close to that of the West. When it has the world largest economy, when the rest of the world relies on trade with it more than it does with the US / Europe, that's when China will start making moves to consolidate its power.

a reply to: DirtyBizzler

I will note it was kind of interesting... that part of the speech:

"We do not seek conflict. But if anyone dares to strike our land, we will respond with the full measure of American power and the iron will of the American spirit and that spirit is unbreakable," Trump said. "If for any reason they come back to our country, we will go wherever they are and use power the likes of which the US has never used before and I'm not even talking about nuclear power."

"They will never have seen anything like what will happen to them," Trump added. "No enemy on Earth can match the overwhelming strength, skill and might of the American armed forces."

Not that it may have anything to do with the topic. Where would they hide a weapon that destructive (space?) and the infrastructure to support it?

Is it possible that they were allowed to hack say a false flag? Plant some juicy tidbit in a US Defense Contractors database and let them hack in?

The simpler explanation perhaps is:

They need realtime data to target USN Carrier strike Groups with DF-21's. A fast mover on a one way mission could get them the data they need at a minimal expense

a reply to: FredT

That's most likely what the WZ-8 will be used at least in part for.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: FredT

That's most likely what the WZ-8 will be used at least in part for.

You know how they love redundancy lol.

True but my impression is that their aerospace industry (at least the defense portion) is a series of competing interests similar to the Soviet Union back in the day. its possible that this has the same mission but different benefactors etc.

a reply to: FredT

If they can get a reusable RBCC/TBCC it would be huge for them. Even a single use platform would be huge depending on what kind of range they can get out of it. The problem is that getting a working TBCC has proven to be really hard.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: FredT

If they can get a reusable RBCC/TBCC it would be huge for them. Even a single use platform would be huge depending on what kind of range they can get out of it. The problem is that getting a working TBCC has proven to be really hard.

Huge nay it would be revolutionary in terms of combat aircraft. The ability to have high mach capability coupled with modern turbofan efficiency would change alot of things

Where is the research in USA in a TBCC project? since a lot of years it seem that there is little interest in this technology? is it possible there will be some research in it in the NGAD program ?

originally posted by: darksidius
Where is the research in USA in a TBCC project?

Allegedly flying into and out of Palmdale.

The US has been looking at TBCC for a long time. Falcon / Blackswift / FaCET / MoTr / AFRE / FRV / SR-72 / Valkyire II.
It's tricky but they are nearly there. And China is just playing catch-up.

a reply to: Masisoar

I can't believe he said it. It's hilarious how the media dismissed it all as Trump is just a retard and talking hyperbole out his a**. He was definitely talking to SOMEONE, and most likely not the Taliban/Al Qaeda. Who else would understand that he's not talking in hyperbole? Outside of some discussion and the few breadcrumbs found here and a couple other spots, it basically doesn't even exist. My guess would be the Chinese, with a minor focus on Russia. It's very odd that the Chinese are touring their new hypersonic weapons so publically, while the Russians are scrambling to stick as many nukes as will fit on delivery systems with progressively scarier names. Maybe the Chinese/Russians are feverishly working to step it up not because they know we have it, but now they know we aren't afraid to use it. Why even mention "it" if we aren't going to start giving free on-site demonstrations?

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: anzha

China has been positioning itself to be a superpower. It can't be that if it doesn't have the same detergents as Russia and the US.

hehehe detergents