China is developing a hypersonic missile capable of striking a car traveling at five times the speed of light

*Paromita Das

China has made significant advances in hypersonic missile technology, including the construction of a model aircraft carrier in the Gobi Desert. However, Chinese scientists were working on developing a hypersonic weapon capable of hitting a moving target, and it appears that they have found a solution. According to media reports, China is currently developing a new line of heat-seeking missiles capable of tracking and hitting a car traveling at five times the speed of sound.

The main challenge in developing such a weapon is successfully tracking and zeroing in on the target at such high speeds, and the team of scientists, led by Yang Xiaogang from the PLA Rocket Force University of Engineering in Xian, stated that they have made significant progress in solving the problem.

According to the team’s paper, the missiles will have a new type of tracking system that will allow China to hit ‘high value’ targets from a significant distance.
While a traditional heat-seeking missile uses infrared sensors to track any target, the new weapons will use motion sensors to create a full image while accounting for all variables.

According to the paper, the success of this project will be heavily reliant on the development and testing of various hardware modifications and sensor technology. Yang and his team, on the other hand, have been given until 2025 to develop the technology for this new line of hypersonic weapons.