China’s Jinglei-1 (JL-1) missile could pose a nuclear threat to Alaska – and potentially the rest of the United States – though it still has significant limitations, according to a Chinese military magazine.
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The JL-1, which made its debut at China’s Victory Day parade in September alongside other strategic missiles, is a nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile. It can be carried by the Chinese air force’s H-6N strategic bombers and is believed to be the final jigsaw piece needed to complete the People’s Liberation Army’s nuclear triad, or the ability to deliver nuclear weapons from platforms in the air, land and sea.
It is the world’s only long-range hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, putting China ahead of the United States and Russia in this emerging weapons category, according to an analysis in this month’s issue of Ordnance Industry Science Technology magazine.
The JL-1, whose name means “Shocking Thunder-1”, reportedly has a range of up to 8,000km (4,971 miles), while an H-6N bomber has a combat range of up to 4,000km if supported by aerial refuelling.
According to the analysis, this combination gives the weapon system an effective operational reach of over 8,000km under very conservative estimates, enough to cover targets such as Alaska or locations within the third island chain in the Pacific.
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“Since Alaska is the core base of the US national missile defence system, the JL-1 would have no real combat purpose if it cannot pose a credible threat to it,” the article said.