Tel Aviv: On July 29, 2026, the Chinese CCTV military channel aired—as a preview for a documentary series marking the 99th anniversary of the Chinese military—the first footage of an YJ-20 missile launch from a Type 052D destroyer.
Israel is following it as this missile might find its way to enemies of Israel, mainly Iran.
Combined salvos from multiple platforms and directions of this type of missile are complicating the allocation of interception resources.
Israeli senior analysts told ESD that according to open data, developing a dedicated interceptor to counter such hypersonic threats appears unavoidable. According to the analysts, Japan and South Korea will likely be compelled to initiate emergency programmes to protect their naval platforms.
An export version (similar to the E-21YJ), which could introduce the technology to additional foreign users, is causing great concerns. China has close defence relations with Iran and other countries in the Middle East.
According to the Israeli analysts, the US response appears to be lagging. The pace of fielding SM-6 interceptors and space-based sensors, as well as the development of jamming and deception measures against the Chinese detection chain, seem to be proceeding slowly than required.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
