UPI:
Jan. 22 (UPI) — China plans to deploy midrange ballistic missiles capable of destroying U.S. aircraft carriers by 2020, according to multiple state media reports. China Times and others reported Tuesday the Dongfeng-17 is a midrange rocket that could be used to sink an entire U.S. aircraft carrier, if it is fired eight times.
The Dongfeng-17 is equipped with a hypersonic gliding warhead that has the ability to penetrate the missile defense system of the United States and other countries, the reports say.
Chen Guangwen, a Chinese military commentator, said the Dongfeng-17 is “impossible” to be traced and intercepted by “Western missile defense.” If Dongfeng-ZF’s hypersonic warhead technology is perfected, the weapon could pose a major threat to the United States’ missile defense network, Chen said.
