Hypersonic superweapon capable of striking targets 125 miles away is spotted on warship
- Photo has emerged of world's first naval rail gun on Chinese naval warship at sea
- Shows landing ship Haiyang Shan with what looks like electromagnetic railgun
- China is the first country in the world to develop hypersonic superweapon
- Weapon capable of firing projectiles five times faster than the speed of sound
What appears to be the world's first naval rail gun - a hypersonic weapon capable of firing projectiles at five times the speed of sound - has been pictured on a Chinese naval warship at sea.
A hazy photo, posted by defence blogger Haohan-Red Shark emerged on Chinese social media last week, claims to show the tank landing ship Haiyang Shan at sea with what looks like an electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) mounted on its bow.
The same Type 072II Yuting-class tank landing ship was pictured with the same weapon atop the bow in a port at an unknown location last March.
The latest development in warfare technology means China is the first to develop a electromagnetic weapon, despite the US dedicating millions of dollars and more than a decade to its own railgun program.
This photo of naval warship Haiyang Shan at sea claims China has beaten the world in becoming the first to develop an electromagnetic railgun, the future of warfare technology
An US intelligence report found that China's weapon would be able to strike 200km (125miles) away with a projectile velocity of 2.5km (1.55miles)per second — greater than Mach 7, the ABC reported.
Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Dr Malcolm Davis believes the most recent development will transform naval warfare and spark a 'hemispheric battle space'.
'This would see belligerents able to strike at each other at distances ranging in the hundreds of kilometres,' Dr Davis told the ABC.
'This would fundamentally change the nature of engagements as you could have adversaries being able to make precise strikes from afar for much less money.'
Photos of the electromagnetic railgun on board the People’s Liberation Army Navy tank Haiyang Shan (pictured) first emerged on Twitter in early 2018, but this is the first time it has been seen at sea
The hypersonic superweapon (pictured on board) has the capacity to fire projectiles hundreds of kilometres away at more than five times the speed of sound
HOW DOES THE RAILGUN REACH SUCH HIGH SPEEDS?
Railguns use electricity instead of gunpowder to accelerate a projectile at six or seven times the speed of sound.
Using an electromagnetic force known as the Lorenz Force, the gun accelerates a projectile between two rails that conduct electricity, before launching it at ferocious speed.
The technology uses electromagnets to send its projectiles hurtling off at thousands of miles per hour. The force generated can be adjusted, depending on the range of the target
This means the railgun can fire further than conventional guns and maintain enough kinetic energy to inflict tremendous damage.
Tests have shown that the weapons can fire a shell weighing 10kg at up to 5,400mph over 100 miles - with such force and accuracy it penetrates three concrete walls or six half-inch thick steel plates.
The video below shows tests of BAE's model.
Deadly weapon is Beijing's answer to America's 'Mother of All Bombs'
- New weapon is shown in a video released by state arms manufacturer Norinco
- The massive bomb is said to be China's largest non-nuclear weapon
- It is smaller and lighter than the US-made GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast
- Military experts said the Chinese bomb could eliminate fortified ground targets
China has developed and tested a new aerial bomb, dubbed the country's answer to the 'Mother of All Bombs' built by the United States.
In a promotional video published on the website of state arms manufacturer Norinco, the deadly bomb was airdropped by a H-6K strategic bomber onto a plain, producing a gigantic ball of fire and black smoke.
The video, released at the end of December, marked the first public display of the country's most powerful non-nuclear bomb, according to state-run newspaper Global Times.
In a video released by state arms manufacturer Norinco, the deadly bomb was airdropped by a H-6K strategic bomber onto a plain, producing a gigantic ball of fire and black smoke
The massive aerial bomb is airdropped by an H-6K bomber at an unknown location in the clip
On social networks on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency referred to the bomb as the 'Chinese version of the "Mother of all Bombs'', in comparison to the US-made GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB). The bomb can obliterate everything within a 3,000-foot (914-metre) radius.
In April 2017, while waging war against militants in Afghanistan, the US military dropped the nine-tonne device on an alleged Islamic State (IS) cave complex in Afghanistan, according to the New York Times.
This marked the first time the munition was used in combat. The strike was described as successful but then-Defense Secretary James Mattis declined to offer any casualty figures.
According to military experts, the Chinese weapon is smaller and lighter than its American counterpart.
An H-6K bomber conducts training exercises Chinese air force sea patrol, South China Sea. In the video, the bomb was airdropped by a H-6K strategic bomber onto a plain (file photo)
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or 'Mother of All Bombs', shown in this undated handout. China has just developed its own version that is said to be smaller and lighter
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb prototype is shown moments before impact. The detonation would create a mushroom cloud that could be seen 20 miles away
Judging from the video and the size of the H-6K's bomb bay, the bomb is approximately 16 to 19 feet (five to six meters) long, according to Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military analyst.
'The massive blast can easily wipe out fortified ground targets such as reinforced buildings, bastions and defense shelters,' Wei told the Global Times.
It can also be used to clear a landing zone for troops on helicopters to rappel down, in case the area is covered by obstacles such as forests, Wei added.
To match the US weapon, Russia developed a 'Father of All Bombs' which is both bigger and thermobaric, meaning it uses gas to create a huge fireball rather than a shockwave. It is said to be even more powerful than the US version.
What is the 'Mother of All Bombs'?
The GBU-43 is a GPS-guided weapon that weighs an enormous 21,600 pounds (10 tonnes), according to the Eglin Air Force Base.
The MOAB was designed in 2002 as a replacement for the BLU-82 Daisy Cutter. Its purpose was initially to put pressure on former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The bomb was sent to the Middle East in 2003, but it was not used until April 2017 when a Lockheed Martin MC-130 Hercules dropped the device on an alleged Islamic State (IS) cave complex in the Achin district of the southern Nangarhar province.
In this US Air Force handout, a GBU-43/B bomb, or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, is launched on November 21, 2003 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
Each one costs US$16 million (£12.6 million), according to military information website Deagel.
The US military says it has 20 MOAB bombs and has spent about US$314 million (£248 million) producing them, according to CNBC.
The weapon is so big that, while the cargo plane is in the air, the bomb rolls out of the rear on a pallet, pulled by a drogue parachute.
It is designed to destroy tunnels and other underground facilities, and its blast radius is estimated to stretch a mile in every direction.
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