China is working on ‘invisible’ missile launchers for ‘future combat’

AI technology will be used for the Dongfeng launchers, PLA Rocket Force researcher tells state broadcaster

Military analyst says they ‘could evade detection from satellites and the infrared rays of radar and drones’

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A PLA Rocket Force researcher told state television that AI technology would be used to make missile launchers more tactical and “invisible”. Photo: Weibo

Published: 12:00pm, 13 Oct 2022

China is developing launchers for its Dongfeng series of road-mobile missiles that could evade detection by satellites, radars and drones, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

They are part of a push to develop new-generation weapons for future warfare, according to the latest episode in a CCTV series on the modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army.

Yang Biwu, a PLA Rocket Force researcher who worked on the launch vehicle for the DF-17 hypersonic missile, said artificial intelligence technology would be used to make the missile launchers more tactical and “invisible”.

“I believe that on the battlefields of the future, our counterparts will not see us or know the whereabouts of our [missile launchers],” he said on the CCTV programme, which aired on Sunday.

“The relationship between the missiles and the launching platform is like bullets and a gun … what we can do is to explore the potential for the platform and provide more options for future combat.”

The DF-17 medium-range missile is believed to be the world’s first active hypersonic glide vehicle weapon, and able to penetrate US missile shields in the region. Yang’s team designed a camouflage launch vehicle for the missile.