A Feared Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Seen Slung Under A Long-Range Bomber [VIDEO]

A new video has emerged showing a People's Liberation Army Xian H-6N bomber carrying a potent and mysterious air-launched anti-ship ballistic missile slung along the bottom of its fuselage.

Though there is no other detail regarding the footage that has gone viral on Chinese social media, The Drive reported that the air-launched missile appears to be related to Eagle Strike 21, the ship-launched anti-ship ballistic missile. The Eagle Strike 21 is another version of the ground-based DF-21D.

The service status of the air-launched ballistic missile carried by the bomber is not clear yet though it is believed to be still going through pre-service trials. A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's report last year mentioned that the bomber was operationally fielded, but did not touch upon the status of the missile, to which it attributes a possible nuclear capability.

Possibly developed from the DF-21D, this mysterious air-launched weapon is likely to be a major threat as it can leave most traditional naval defensive systems redundant with its speed and at a steep angle of descent. For the same reasons, such missiles have been dubbed "carrier killers."

The Drive report added that the air-launched ballistic missiles, just like the ship-launched ones, are likely to be deployed in concert with ground-based DF-21Ds, to help keep U.S. carrier strike groups away from Chinese shores so as to make their fighter jets useless.

That said, these weapons would require precise targeting data, mid-course updates, and other similar specifics to make them lethal. Analysts believe that since the ground-based DF-21D is supposedly operational now for more than a decade, the same targeting and attack chain could be ported over to the air-launched ones too.

Compared to the ground-based ballistic missiles, the air-launched ones from the bomber offer advantages. Their range can be extended beyond what's possible for an equivalent ground-based system.

In addition to the bomber, which has a range of about 3,700 miles without aerial refueling, carrying it further from land for release, the missile's range can also go up when launched from a higher altitude. The air-launched ballistic missiles have also better survival chances than their land-based counterparts.

There are reports that the H-6N bomber can also carry air-launched hypersonic missiles. Just like the air-launched ballistic missile, the hypersonic one too will be based on its existing ground-based counterpart.

If the hypersonic air-launched missile becomes a reality, it would further enhance China's anti-access/area-denial strategy, by likely bringing key enemy installations within striking range. These can include the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and even Wake Island.