By Kris Osborn, Warrior

(Washington DC) China’s ability to arm its H-6N bomber with the DF-100 supersonic cruise missile introduces new threats and previously unavailable angles of attack on US Navy and allied assets in the Pacific, particularly given the speed and 3,000km range and precision guidance of the weapon. 

China’s ground launched “carrier-killer” DF-26 and DF-1D are well known threats to carriers as they have mobile launchers, range and guidance to hit moving Navy ships and damaging explosive materials. The PLA is also known to be developing dual-use anti-ship cruise missiles that are hypersonic or even nuclear. 

However, beneath the threshold of regular discussion, the People’s Liberation Army is also revealing its supersonic DF-100, a maneuverable supersonic cruise missile fired from both air and ground with precision and ranges out to 3,000 to 4,000km. A land fired range of 4,000km rivals the 2000-mile reach of the DF-26, and while not hypersonic above Mach 5, the supersonic DF-100 introduces nearly unparalleled supersonic speeds reaching Mach 4. 

Air Launched DF-100

Land launched PLA cruise and ballistic missiles have been on the Pentagon’s radar for years and are regularly cited in the Department of War’s annual China report, yet air launched supersonic cruise missiles can enable previously impossible attacks on carriers. A PLA AF H-6N bomber could maneuver into aerial strike positions much more difficult to defend. 

While mobile ground launchers can be difficult to track and are often moved into caves and behind buildings to remain undetectable to satellite view, they emit a light, heat and acoustic signature upon launch which various satellites and sensors are able to detect shortly after launch. This is particularly true if drones, surveillance planes or surface reconnaissance “nodes” are in position to monitor launch activity. Clearly the intent would be to “see” and destroy a launching cruise missile or hypersonic missile just prior to or after launch. This kind of intercept would be much less possible against an air launched DF-100, as it could launch a guided cruise missile from the air at distances up to 2,000 miles.

Salvo threat

The largest potential threat with the DF-100 may relate to its potential use in a salvo kind of attack. Often referred to as a “bolt out of the blue” a salvo attack would be an effort to launch a large number of missiles at one time to overwhelm air defenses, jam radar and ensure a number of attacking weapons continue on to their targets.  A salvo or bolt out of the blue, particularly if fired at supersonic speed, would be extremely difficult for even the best ship and ground defenses to intercept. Ship-launched interceptor missiles such as an SM-3 or SM-6 guided by Aegis radar could definitely track incoming or approaching missiles, and Carrier Strike Groups are supported by destroyers and cruisers armed with a wide range of ship defenses such as the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Block II an interceptor with “sea-skimming” mode able to intercept cruise missiles flying parallel to the ocean at lower altitudes. US Navy warships are also armed with EW, lasers and the ability to “network” target track data between surface, air and ground nodes. 

However, the operative question here relates to the extent to which US assets on the ground in the Pacific or Carrier Strike Groups would be vulnerable to a DF-100 salvo attack; the threat seems to introduce important Concepts of Operation, such as the need for a layered, multi-domain ability to track H-6N bombers and ground launchers prior to or right after any potential launch. This would require drones, aerial surveillance planes, satellites and both surface and ground sensing and radar nodes sufficient to track and destroy a ground or air launched salvo attack. 

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.