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China is Set to Unveil a Full Set of New Hypersonic Missiles

A YJ-17 captured in low-resolution nighttime footage during preparations for the Beijing parade (Chinese social media)
A YJ-17 captured in low-resolution nighttime footage during preparations for the Beijing parade (Chinese social media)

Published Sep 1, 2025 9:48 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

China is set to unveil its new hypersonic anti-ship missile at a parade in Beijing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The YJ-17 has previously been kept under wraps.

The YJ-17, from the Eagle Strike missile family, is reported to be able to reach Mach 8, or over 6,000 mph, and to be able to hit targets at a range of 750 miles. It is believed to have an evasive maneuver capability in its terminal flight phase, and can be vertically-launched from ships.

The previously unseen YJ-17 has been seen alongside a number of other new recently introduced missiles in the mounting areas in Beijing where Wednesday’s parade is being rehearsed. These include the YJ-19 and YJ-20, both hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, with the YJ-19 capable of being fired from ships.

The YJ-17 missile in particular - when operational on board Chinese ships - will be a new threat to US carriers operating in the Pacific, which the US Navy is seeking to counter by introducing new missile systems of its own. The AGM-158C LRASM long-range cruise missiles can be launched from carrier-borne aircraft. Block V Maritime Strike Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of over 1,000 miles are programmed to be operationally-ready aboard US destroyers by the end of this month. Both the US Navy and the Air Force are also engaged in a rapid procurement project known as MACE to acquire a cheaper and longer ranged air-launched missile, capable of being launched from stealth aircraft. No doubt the effectiveness of US defensive anti-missile systems will also need to be reevaluated to determine if they are capable of dealing with the hypersonic closing speed of the YJ-17. Also part of the strategy to counter the developing threat is the use of forward islands in the western Pacific, from which the US Marine Indo-Pacific Long Range Fires Battalion can launch SM-6 based Typhon missiles, a tactic rehearsed during the recent Exercise Talisman Sabre in Northern Australia.

On the basis of equipment seen parked up for rehearsals, the 80th anniversary parade is likely to mark an uprating on China’s part of its aggressive stance towards the United States, Japan and Taiwan, probably also to be reflected in the speech which will be made by Chinese leader President Xi Jinping during the parade. Also attending the parade will be Russia’s President Putin and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

As a political event, the parade will mark the revival of President Xi’s ascendancy, after a period when it was thought that internal opposition to his martial leanings had diminished his standing. A meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization preceded the parade, attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – a sign of an Indian-Chinese rapprochement amidst pressure from Washington - as well as leaders of two NATO countries, Recep Erdogan of Turkey and Robert Fico of Slovakia.