“Jumping Stone” is a new type of Chinese hypersonic missile

The new projectile uses a “jumping stone” flight path, allowing it to dive into the atmosphere more than once and “jump out.”

The “jumping stone” greatly increases the range of the hypersonic weapon, potentially allowing it to reach the other side of the Earth. The projectile can fly at speeds exceeding Mach 15 (about 18,000 kilometers per hour).

The projectile uses a multi-stage solid-fuel accelerator, which ensures repeated entry into and exit from the atmosphere, and ensures control during flight.

It is noteworthy that the hovering projectile is a new type of warhead that can maneuver and glide at hypersonic speeds, making it possible to control the projectile’s path after it is launched.

With the use of the “jumping stone” trajectory, the missile’s operating range can be increased by more than a third, expanding the primary use of hypersonic missiles from regional conflicts to global warfare operations.
“This new generation of hypersonic weapons has distinctive characteristics in terms of combat use, including long range, high maneuverability and unpredictability,” said Yong Enmei, a researcher at the China Aerodynamics Research Center, in an article published in the Chinese Journal of Astronautics.

Source: TASS