China adds air-to-air warheads to hypersonic missiles

China has developed hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) that can fire air-to-air missiles, a capability no other country is known to operate, according to a Bloomberg report. The weapons are designed to target command-and-control aircraft thousands of miles away. DF-17 missiles carrying HGVs can reach about 2,414 km, while DF-27 missiles have a range of roughly 8,000 km, placing areas as far as Hawaii within reach.

The Pentagon estimates that as of 2024 China had at least 300 ground-launched cruise missiles and 3,150 ballistic missiles. One person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Beijing is using its missile arsenal for nearly every military task and has added air-to-air capabilities to hypersonic cruise missiles as well. The travel time of a ballistic missile, 20 minutes or more, means targeting must be precise, and such weapons can be mistaken for a nuclear attack, complicating their use.