Facing threats from China, Taiwan has reportedly developed a new hypersonic missile which can travel at speeds of Mach 6.

The new hypersonic missile – named Qingtian – has a range exceeding 1243 miles (2000 kilometers), and is being mass produced, as per a report by Liberty Time Net.

As per the report, the hypersonic cruise missile will enter service with the Army in the near future.

The reports also state that Taiwan is trying to develop a system that will allow it to also be deployed from mobile launchers. It is in talks with a Czech firm, and also an American one for the possibility of making mobile launchers.

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Taiwan’s new hypersonic missile – Qingtian

Qingtian - the hypersonic missile - builds on the Yunfeng and Yungeng II programs, as per a report by Army Recognition. It has advanced features in range, speed, and operational flexibility.

It also reports that some units of the missile have already been delivered to Taiwan’s air force missile brigades.

Its development was led by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), and it was supported by the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense’s ‘National Defense Advanced Technology Research Plan.’

Taiwan is considering the Czech-made Tatra Force 12X12 trucks for their off-road capabilities, adaptability to mountainous terrain, and maneuverability.

Moreover, the American Oshkosh M983 is also being touted as an alternative platform for the hypersonic missile.

The Mach 6 speed – ability to travel at six times the speed of sound – will make it difficult for the enemy air defense systems to track and intercept it once it is fired.

Earlier, in the past decade Taiwan had developed the Yun Feng supersonic land-attack cruise missile. It had a range of 745 miles (1,200 km), and an extended range variant with over 1,243 mile range was also developed.

The Yun Feng used a ramjet engine with solid-fueled booster, and had become operational in 2014. In 2019, as per CSIS, the missile had started serial production of the missile.

China threat to Taiwan

China has kept on applying more pressure on Taiwan and its other neighbors in the Indo-Pacific region. The escalating tensions in the region had fueled Taiwan’s push for a hypersonic missile system.

Earlier in 2024, Taiwan had revealed its plans to develop supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) technology for hypersonic weapons.

One of the key benefits of the hypersonic missile system is that it can reach the top of the Earth’s atmosphere and remain just beyond the range of air and missile defense systems until they are ready to strike, and by then it’s too late to react.

In December 2024, United States Army and Navy had announced the successful testing of a conventional hypersonic missile. It was the first live-fire event for the long-range hypersonic weapon (LRHW) system using a battery operations center and a transporter erector launcher.

The LRHW – also known as Dark Eagle – has a reported range of 1,725 miles, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

Apart from the US, China and Russia also have hypersonic weapons in their arsenal. India too had announced the successful test-firing of a 930-mile range hypersonic weapon in 2024.

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