New images suggest Chinese army's KD-21 ballistic missiles operational Photo

Newly emerged images point to the Chinese-made KD-21 aeroballistic missile having been inaugurally carried by an aircraft assigned to a frontline unit by the Chinese Air Force.

The TWZ publication noted that the KD-21 air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) appears to now be in operational service, which is widely seen as part of the country’s rapidly developing anti-shipping armory, Caliber.Az reports.

According to the article, the missile first appeared when it made an official public debut at Airshow China in Zhuhai in November 2022.

Imagery has now emerged showing an H-6K aircraft assigned to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) 10th Bomber Division, which is part of the strategically highly important Eastern Theater Command. It is one of the country's five branches of theater commands, which acts as joint headquarters for Army, Navy and Air Force. The Eastern Command is, among others, responsible for the megalopolis city of Shanghai and Strait of Taiwan.

The new images depict aircrafts carrying a pair of KD-21 missiles under its center-wing pylons, believed to have participated during a recent military drill.

The article notes that the KD-21 is only the latest in a series of Chinese ALBMs. These have tended to be considered primarily as anti-ship weapons — often referred to as ‘carrier-killers’ based on their likely high-priority targets, but they can be used against many ship types. Pursuing various ALBMs optimized for the anti-shipping role also fits with their use as part of China’s fast-evolving anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy.

TWZ analysts evaluate the KD-21 designation to be primarily intended for land attack, rather than anti-shipping owing to the fact that the missile is being issued, at first to the PLAAF.

It is being compared in concept to the Russian Kinzhal, a weapon that is launched from adapted MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Kinzhal, which has been described as a air-launched nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, has been used by Russia in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

By Aghakazim Guliyev