BEIJING – A social media snafu made by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)Rocket Force may have given netizens a sneak peek into what some observersbelieve to be China’s latest supersonic cruise missile.
The PLA Rocket Force’s Weibo account posted on Wednesday a video montage ofpast missile launches conducted by Beijing ahead of the 70th anniversary ofthe People’s Republic of China on October 1. Moments later, the 65-secondclip was taken down and re-uploaded with a slight alteration that replacedthe test seen at the 0:16 timestamp in the clip below.
The excised footage showed the launch of what could be a new type ofsupersonic cruise missile.[image: Loading video]
A munitions expert explained to the South China Morning Post (SCMP)linkthatthe brief clip of the missile reveals its slender dorsal fins, propellantsand collapsable tail fins, which are all traditionally useful in helping aprojectile to travel faster than the speed of sound and reach longdistances.
“The new missile would probably have a range of more than 1,000 km [680miles],” he told the SCMP.
This is not the first preview of things to come for the massive October 1military parade in Beijing. Earlier this month, a supersonic unmannedaerial vehicle was spotted cruising along the highway on the back of aPLA-affiliated truck.
Though the aircraft is covered, it is thought to be one of China’s newsupersonic droneslinkratherthan the Sharp Sword evading attack dronelink-also known as the “Lijian.”
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