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Videos and other imagery bearing witness to the awesome destructive power of nuclear detonations remain some of the most enduring legacies of the Cold War. But of the more than 2,000 nuclear weapons tests that have been carried out since 1945, only very, very few have involved a live weapon dropped from a fighter-bomber.

A nuclear strike performed by the Su-7

At least one such test took place in the Soviet Union, however. On his X account, Sam Wise, an aviation analyst at Janes, brought our attention to footage that purportedly shows that test, or at least portions of it.

The test in question was especially notable in that it involved a free-fall tactical nuclear bomb that was delivered by a crewed fighter-bomber, specifically a Su-7 Fitter attack jet, in an end-to-end test.

Of those 2,000-plus nuclear tests, only a small fraction involved bombs dropped from aircraft of any kind — roughly 200 to 250 according to records compiled by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Those tests almost always involved bombers, aircraft with multiple engines, several crew members, and, often, dedicated to delivering nuclear weapons.

The vast majority of nuclear tests were conducted underground, at sea, or on land. In the latter case, the devices were typically detonated from an elevated position, either atop a tower or suspended from a balloon. This better replicated the conditions of a typical nuclear detonation, with the weapon engineered to explode in an air burst above the ground, for maximum effect.

One reason for the relative scarcity of air-dropped nuclear bomb tests was the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which pushed testing underground.

At the same time, dropping a live nuclear weapon from a crewed aircraft brings additional risks for relatively little benefit.

At the beginning of the nuclear age, air-dropped tests were useful to prove that bombs could be delivered, but they were inefficient in terms of scientific measurement and riskier to conduct from a safety point of view. Dropping a nuclear device from an aircraft adds variables (altitude, speed, trajectory) that complicate measurements. If something goes wrong, you risk losing a plane, or worse, an accidental detonation or contamination spread.

Based on the available information, it appears that the U.S. military never tested a live tactical nuclear bomb dropped by a tactical combat jet, despite the very many platforms, both Air Force and Navy, that were cleared to carry them operationally.

It should be noted that the U.S. Air Force did detonate one tactical nuclear weapon after launch from a fighter. However, this involved an air-to-air rocket, the nuclear-tipped Genie, which was fired on this occasion from an F-89 interceptor, in 1957’s Operation Plumbbob John.

Project Genie : Air-to-air rocket nuclear testing

France does appear to have conducted a live test of an air-dropped tactical nuclear bomb, with an AN52 dropped from a Jaguar attack jet in August 1972, to help prove that weapon for service.

Returning to the Soviet Union, on August 27, 1962, pilot Lt. Col. A. I. Shein took off in a single-seat Su-7B, with a live 244N nuclear bomb carried on the centerline station below the fuselage. He then headed for the Semipalatinsk test site on the Soviet steppe. Also known as “The Polygon,” the Semipalatinsk range was the main test site for Soviet nuclear weapons. It is in the Abai region, in what is now Kazakhstan.

Shein put the jet into a climb at an angle of around 45 degrees. This was an ‘over-the-shoulder’ toss maneuver, typical for fighter-bombers of this era. This involved the attacking aircraft pulling upward before releasing its bomb to compensate for the weapon’s gravity drop in flight. The result would put the weapon on the target, without the aircraft having to pass over it. Instead, the jet would complete a half roll and (hopefully) avoid the blast effects so it could escape. The launch maneuver sequence, as shown in the video, is apparently simulated, or at the least, heavily edited.

Shein later recalled:

“I take off, the excitement subsides, I enter the combat course, and make an approach. Everything is normal, I make an approach for a combat release, bring the aircraft into a nose-up attitude, and monitor the G-forces. After four seconds, I hear a signal, then a second, a short third, and I press the ‘release’ trigger. The green light goes out, indicating the release has been completed. The bomb’s release is felt by the shaking of the aircraft. I continue the nose-up attitude. For control, I note the release angle; it is almost constant and equal to 44–50 degrees. After passing the top point, I then descend at a 50-60 degree angle, perform a half-roll, increase engine speed and, consequently, aircraft speed, descend to the lowest possible altitude, and try to get as far and as quickly as possible from the target.”

This method required a bomb computer to calculate the release point. For the U.S. Air Force, this was the Low Altitude Bombing System, or LABS, while the Su-7 was fitted with the equivalent PBK-1 device, a separate box that was added to the left side of the instrument panel. In this context, PBK denoted Pritsel dliya Bombometaniya s Kabrirovaniya, or toss-bombing sight.

A video shows a U.S. Air Force B-47 bomber flying the LABS maneuver:

Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Low Altitude Bombing System) LABS Maneuver

After release from the Su-7, the bomb exploded at an altitude of around 800 feet, at the coordinates of 50.4°N and 77.8°E. The detonation had a yield of 11 kilotons.

As for the Su-7, this was the Soviet Union’s first-generation supersonic attack jet. It was rapidly equipping fighter-bomber regiments, and nuclear strike would become one of its most important duties.

The streamlined 244N was the first mass-produced Soviet tactical nuclear bomb specifically intended for carriage by supersonic jets.

A photo showing the earlier, non-streamlined RDS-4 tactical free-fall bomb:

RDS-4 “Tatyana” was a Soviet atomic bomb that was first tested with a yield of 27 kilotons at Semipalatinsk Test Site, on August 23, 1953. The Soviet Union’s first mass-produced tactical nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/c7xdODw0tZ

— NUKES (@atomicarchive) August 24, 2023

At this point, it should be noted that there is a possibility that the video shows not the 244N, but an IAB-500, a so-called ‘imitation bomb’ that replicated the shape, dimensions, weight and flight characteristics of the nuclear device. Filled with a mixture of liquid petroleum and white phosphorus, it also produced a large fireball that subsequently turned into a mushroom cloud.

With that in mind, the video could at least show portions of an IAB-500 test, although the location and the original voiceover point squarely to the 1962 Semipalatinsk test. The apparent installation of a camera pod below the Su-7’s wing, to record the detonation, also suggests a nuclear test rather than training.

Regardless, the 244N was successfully tested and was put into operational service in several variants, including with different yields up to a maximum of 30 kilotons. Most of these bombs were deployed by Soviet units stationed close to what would have been the front line in the event of a confrontation with NATO: in East Germany, Hungary, and Poland.

Starting in 1967, Western intelligence began to note training activities involving nuclear weapons at Soviet airbases in East Germany, including Su-7s taking part in LABS-type maneuvers.

In one of its reports from 1967, the U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) noted that its staff identified Su-7s from Grossenhain Air Base performing at least four LABS practice delivery runs on October 7 of that year.

“The aircraft passed over the airfield at approximately 2,000 feet, pulled up into vertical climb to 3,500 feet, pitched over, flew inverted for several seconds, then rolled over again departing to the west.”

Two days later, the USMLM reported “A very active program of local navigational, touch-and-go landings, LABS maneuvers, and possible range activity flown by Grossenhain-based Fitter and [two-seat Su-7] Moujik” aircraft.

Air-dropped tactical nuclear weapons still play a significant role in Russia’s military strategy, as evidenced by recent moves to station tactical devices in Belarus. Many Russian combat aircraft have variants capable of carrying nuclear bombs, and most Russian air-launched missiles weighing over around 1,000 pounds have the option of a nuclear warhead.

Russia really wants West to see they’re doing a tac nuke exercise. After several exercise videos they put the head of the 12 GUMO in front of a Belarusian Su-25 (possibly at Lida air base) loaded with what is said to be “training nuclear ammunition.” https://t.co/h9rHp2qvGv pic.twitter.com/sTzAqSNd9f

— Hans Kristensen (also on Bluesky) (@nukestrat) June 13, 2024

Starting in the 1960s, the 244N was superseded by a modernized development of the same weapon, the 10-kiloton RN-24, as well as the one-kiloton RN-28. These were carried, among others, by the MiG-21 and Su-7.

These bombs were followed in the 1980s followed by the RN-40 and RN-41, carried by the MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, Su-17, Su-24, and Su-27.

To this day, the IAB-500 also remains in use to train combat jet pilots in nuclear bomb delivery. Alongside it, although much less known, and barely ever seen, are tactical nuclear bombs, the descendants of the 244N that was proven in a unique test back in 1962.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

A new and not immediately recognizable launcher has emerged on the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Carl M. Levin. Last year, launchers for Coyote counter-drone interceptors appeared in the same general location on two other Burkes, the USS Bainbridge and the USS Winston S. Churchill. The Navy is currently known to be exploring several other options for integrating lower-cost anti-drone interceptors on various warships to bolster their defenses against this ever-growing threat. The new launcher could also be for deploying other kinds of munitions, drones, and/or decoys.

The Carl M. Levin and its new launcher can be seen in the background of a picture that the U.S. Marine Corps released on April 8, which is seen in parts throughout this story. The image was taken on March 29 at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Levin, also known by the hull number DDG-120, is homeported there. A Japanese-language blog called OSINFO was the first to notice the launcher in the image and posted it to social media.

The new launcher is seen installed on the deck at the aft end of the Levin’s superstructure, between the destroyer’s port-side torpedo tubes and its rear Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) array. From what we can see of the launcher itself, it appears to have multiple cells. Whether or not it can rotate or is fixed in place is not perfectly clear, but the latter seems likely, especially given what appears to be a circular mount. It looks like it would swivel upwards for firing.

What the launcher fires and what purpose it serves are unknown. It was not seen on Levin at least as of December 2025. A cursory search at the time of writing does not now show it on any other Burkes, and it is not known whether the Navy currently plans to field it more widely on that class or any others. TWZ has reached out to the Navy for more information.

One distinct possibility is that this is a launcher for the White Spike counter-drone interceptor from Zone 5 Technologies. The launcher that Zone 5 has shown so far for White Spike is a four-cell design that is different from the one now installed on the USS Carl M. Levin. At the same time, it is also very similar in many respects, both in terms of form and likely function. The trapezoidal shape of its front is an especially prominent similarity as well as its overall configuration.

Zone 5 White Spike Counter UAS drone interceptor flight tests

White Spike has been under evaluation as part of a project called Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems – NEXT, or Counter-NEXT, which the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has been running since 2024. Its appearance on a Navy destroyer now would make sense given that Counter-NEXT has had a particular eye toward naval applications.

Anduril’s Roadrunner-M counter-drone interceptor has also been under evaluation as part of Counter-NEXT. However, the launchers that Anduril has publicly shown so far for those interceptors do not align with what is seen on the Levin. Furthermore, Roadrunner-M is designed to be launched vertically and recovered in the same way for reuse if it does not actually prosecute a target in the course of a mission, as you can read more about here.

Last year, the U.S. Navy had said that it planned to integrate launchers for Anduril’s Roadrunner-M counter-drone interceptors, as well as Raytheon’s Coyote, on an unspecified number of Arleigh Burke class destroyers. As already noted, the launcher on Levin is in the same general spot as the Coyote launchers that have been installed on the USS Bainbridge and the USS Winston S. Churchill.

There is certainly demand from the Navy for more counter-drone capabilities for its ships, in general, which grew substantially in the wake of the service’s experiences during operations in and around the Red Sea in recent years. The latest conflict with Iran has only further underscored the still-expanding scope and scale of uncrewed aerial threats.

Lockheed Martin has also previously shown a concept for installing four-cell launchers capable of firing AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) in the same general location at the aft end of an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. As its name indicates, JAGM was originally developed for use against surface targets, but Lockheed Martin has been looking to evolve it into the counter-drone space. JAGM is derived from the AGM-114 Hellfire. The millimeter-wave radar-guided AGM-114L variant, in particular, has already emerged as a counter-drone weapon in recent years, including for shipboard use. JAGMs fired from warships could also be used for close-in defense against other targets, including swarms of small crewed or uncrewed boats.

There is still a possibility that the launcher now integrated on the USS Carl M. Levin could have other purposes beyond the counter-drone role.

A launcher for drones, including types configured as loitering munitions or decoys, could be another possibility. In recent years, the Navy has notably been experimenting with long-endurance drone-like decoys to help lure incoming anti-ship cruise missiles away from friendly ships and otherwise confuse opponents. In February, DIU put out a call for containerized drone launcher designs that could be employed at sea or on land. TWZ has previously laid out a detailed case for the many benefits that could come along with integrating launchers for swarms of drones configured to perform a variety of different tasks onto Navy ships.

Levin‘s new launcher could be used to fire shorter-range decoys and/or other kinds of countermeasures, as well.

Broadly speaking, the Navy has a long history of integrating new and improved capabilities, including weapon systems and countermeasures, on small numbers of Burkes. In some cases, those modifications have then begun to make their way onto more ships of the class, or have otherwise informed larger upgrade programs. The Arleigh Burke class is set to be the workhorse of the Navy’s surface fleets for years to come, and the ships will require continual updating as new threats and other developments emerge.

Whatever its purpose, the new launcher at the aft end of the USS Carl M. Levin is the latest example of how the capabilities of the Navy’s Burkes continue to evolve.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

An advanced imaging infrared seeker from a U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile interceptor looks to have been recovered largely intact in Syria. This could be a major intelligence loss that may allow adversaries to gain valuable insights into the capabilities of THAAD, which is being very heavily employed in the current conflict with Iran. THAAD has also been an important player in blunting previous Iranian missile barrages against Israel, and is a key component of the U.S. military’s global missile defense architecture.

A video, seen below, began circulating on social media earlier today showing the THAAD seeker, as well as other portions of the interceptor, on the ground. The clip is said to have been shot in the vicinity of the Syrian city of Suwayda in the southwestern corner of the country, though TWZ cannot immediately verify this independently. However, Suwayda is some 25 miles north of the border with Jordan and around 55 miles to the east of Israel’s internationally recognized boundaries. The U.S. military is currently reported to have THAAD batteries in Israel and Jordan.

As its name indicates, THAAD is designed to intercept short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase of flight. Depending on a variety of factors, including the physical position of the launcher relative to the threat, the system can attempt intercepts against targets just as they begin their descent into Earth’s atmosphere.

THAAD cues its interceptors before their launch, either using its own powerful AN/TPY-2 radar or via data from offboard sensors through the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communication (C2BMC) network.

After launch, the so-called “kill vehicle” at the front end detaches from the rocket booster at the rear. A shroud at the front, which covers the seeker and the rest of the kill vehicle, also breaks away. That shroud is also seen on the ground in the newly emerged video.

Freed from the shroud, the kill vehicle uses its conformal infrared seeker to find and home in on the target missile. In general, imaging infrared has the benefit of being a passive guidance method that is immune to radiofrequency countermeasures, such as jamming or decoys designed to mimic the radar signature of a real threat.

THAAD’s interceptors are hit-to-kill types that are designed to destroy their targets through sheer force of impact. As such, the kill vehicles do not contain any kind of explosive warhead. Each one does have several small rocket motors that help it precisely maneuver into position to slam into the incoming missile. These are collectively known as the Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS).

“The unique DACS provides two kinds of propulsion: one for attitude control and another for kill-vehicle maneuvering. The DACS uses six thrusters to provide roll, pitch, and yaw control for the interceptor,” according to L3Harris, which supplies this component of the interceptor. “These thrusters work together to precisely stabilize the interceptor-seeker field of view for proper target visibility. The seeker’s target data are then converted into maneuvering or divert commands that actuate the other four DACS thrusters as required. The four divert thrusters provide short, forceful pulses to quickly and accurately position the THAAD kill vehicle for target intercept.”

In the video, the entire kill vehicle is intact enough that the ports for some of these rockets are plainly visible.

The fact that the kill vehicle and shroud were recovered on the ground so close together and in relatively good condition points to a failure of some kind, but the exact circumstances remain unknown. What has since happened to the debris is also not known.

Gaining access to a THAAD interceptor seeker, as well as the rest of the kill vehicle, would give an adversary new insights into its performance envelope and other capabilities. That information could then be used in the development of new countermeasures, as well as tactics, techniques, and procedures to reduce the interceptor’s effectiveness. This would be on top of what Iran, as well as countries like Russia and China, have already been gleaning just from observing THAAD’s performance in the current conflict, as well as prior engagements.

Deep intelligence exploitation of the physical design of the seeker and the kill vehicle, as well as the materials used to make them, could be beneficial for supporting other developments, as well. The kill vehicle and the systems within have to survive the stresses of traveling at hypersonic speeds, typically defined as anything above Mach 5, as it screams toward its target. Adversaries like China could leverage this information to improve their own anti-ballistic missile capabilities or attempt to clone THAAD more directly.

Employing highly advanced weaponry of any kind always carries at least a degree of risk of intelligence loss. Even just in the course of normal operations, the most reliable systems can still fail and fall into the wrong hands. This is not the first time TWZ has called attention to this reality, including in regard to the recovery of sensitive components of surface-to-air interceptors. The U.S. government, as well as China, Russia, and many other countries, have extensive foreign materiel exploitation programs poised to seize on any opportunity to acquire weapon systems and other equipment for extensive analysis, testing, and even reverse engineering.

Though we do not know what happened to the THAAD seeker and the rest of the kill vehicle seen in the video, this may not be the last time we see such debris in Syria or elsewhere in the region, given how extensively these interceptors are being used as Iranian ballistic missile attacks continue.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

BROOKLYN Beckham cut a stern figure as he took a long phone call outside of a hotel in Los Angeles.

The estranged son of Victoria and David Beckham paced outside of the steps of the hotel while on the 30-minute call during a day out with wife Nicola Peltz.

Brooklyn was dressed casually in a black t-shirt and Nike baseball cap outside the Sunset Plaza Hotel in West Hollywood on Friday. 

He completed the look with black Doc Martens and black jeans.

Brooklyn and Nicola married in 2022 and live in a £12million home in Los Angeles.

They have been at war with Posh and Becks since last year when they skipped David’s 50th birthday in May.

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Brooklyn confirmed he had severed all ties in January in an explosive six-page statement.

His tense phone call comes after it was reported that the couple has been approached by an US streamer for a tell-all series to rival his estranged parents’ Netflix deal.

His American management teams are said to be in early talks with production heads at Hulu.

An insider said: “Brooklyn is keen. Alongside documenting his culinary business venture, Hulu bosses will hope he will open up about the bombshell rift with his parents.

“This isn’t just any platform. Hulu which is owned by Disney is home to global smash hits like The Kardashians.

“They’d be instantly propelled firmly into the big leagues and in direct competition with Netflix, which, of course, has its own Beckham ties having run authored documentaries by both of his parents.

“Brooklyn and Nicola have been offered big money interviews before but turned them all down.

“When they do decide to speak, it will be on their own terms.

“They also want to make it clear they are not being controlled by the Peltz family and that they make their own decisions.”

Actress Nicola, 31, has appeared in several Hulu productions including The Beauty and When The Streetlights Go On.

Her billionaire dad, Nelson, once controlled a huge stake in Disney.

Nicola ramped up the war with David and Victoria last week by claiming her parents treat Brooklyn, 27, “like another son”.

Spotters in Greece have caught an especially good look at what very much appears to be a stealthy, long-range, high-altitude (HALE) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drone commonly referred to as the RQ-180, or an evolution of that design.

Pictures of the dark-colored, flying-wing type aircraft landing at Larissa National Airport, also known as Larissa Air Base, situated in the Greek city of the same name, were published earlier today by local news outlet onlarissa.gr.

“Those who were in the area near the 110th Fighter Wing [technically the 110th Combat Wing] in Larissa at the end of last week were left speechless when they saw an impressive plane in the sky, completely different in shape and appearance from everything we see daily in politics and the military air force,” according to a machine translation of onlarissa.gr’s piece, which misidentifies the aircraft as a B-2 bomber. “According to more recent information from military sources, this [aircraft] … reportedly parked at the Larissa military airport due to a breakdown and will remain there until it is repaired.”

TWZ cannot immediately confirm any of these latter details, but we have reached out to U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and the Pentagon for more information.

What is clear is that this is not a B-2, which has a very distinctive saw-tooth trailing edge that is not visible here, among other features. In fact, the overall planform is highly reminiscent of the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber from Northrop Grumman, as well as past sightings of aircraft believed to be RQ-180s or progenitors of that design. The RQ-180 is widely understood to be a Northrop Grumman product, as well, and very likely played a significant role in risk reduction efforts as part of the development of the B-21, as we have posited for years.

There are also some very rough similarities to sightings of what is believed to be an Israeli drone called the RA-01, but with some distinct differences. The RA-01 shares a similar planform, but is a more svelte design that would be significantly smaller than what we are seeing here. Furthermore, it makes very little sense that an Israeli drone would be flying that far west for any reason. The American aircraft in question is likely quite large, sitting below the size of a B-21, but maybe by 25 percent, as a guess. It would be designed for extremely long-endurance, high altitude strategic reconnaissance missions.

B-21 Takeoff and Landing

The pictures from Larissa also offer a good look at the aircraft’s landing gear, which is very widely positioned. A gear configuration of that kind allows for the maximization of volume in between and underscores the sheer wingspan of the aircraft.

Whether the aircraft in question has been operating from Larissa, or simply diverted there due to an issue, is unknown. It is possible that it has been forward-deployed to the base, but still had to return to base unexpectedly, leading to it being spotted during the day rather than coming in discreetly at night.

Larissa is a Hellenic Air Force base, home to the 110th Combat Wing, which operates Block 52+ F-16C/D Viper fighters, as well as various types of drones. Since the late 2010s, the U.S. Air Force has also publicly used the base for MQ-9 Reaper drone operations over areas of Europe and Africa. That, in turn, has led to upgrades to Larissa’s infrastructure, especially along the south side of the base, where there are now hangars that could accommodate larger flying wing aircraft and that do not appear to be used to house MQ-9s.

By what we can surmise about the RQ-180 program, aircraft that are part of its lineage have likely been flying for roughly over a decade and a half. Yet in recent years, just as this platform was thought to be coming online in a grander operational sense, we have not seen the infrastructure that would be indicative of that. It’s even possible its scale has been reduced as the Pentagon looks to push its surveillance capabilities to space, and especially some of the kinds an ‘RQ-180’ could do.

Still, given that this aircraft is now likely a component of the Long Range Strike (LRS) family of systems, and will work in concert with and even possibly have some commonality with the B-21, it could share that same infrastructure and come online fully alongside the Raider in the next couple of years. That is if the program is still intended to be scaled-up as opposed to diverting funds to on-orbit surveillance capabilities.

Regardless, the aircraft has been spotted flying over secretive locales in America’s Southwest for many years now, with sightings over Area 51, and reports of it flying out of Palmdale and Edwards Air Force Base. A conflict with Iran would be a relevant fit for what it was designed to do, so it should be of no surprise that it is flying missions over the country, even if it still remains in something of a late developmental state.

In all of the years of the RQ-180’s rumored existence, multiple stealthy HALE drone designs have emerged in China, at least undergoing testing, and these are just the ones we know about.

We will have more analysis on all this in the near future.

Already, if nothing else, there are very strong signs that we’ve now gotten our best look ever at the drone referred to as the RQ-180 or a directly related design.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

In a surprising development, Serbia has emerged as an operator of the Chinese-made CM-400 air-launched supersonic standoff missile. The weapon has been integrated into Serbia’s Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrums, which have undergone various upgrades. As it stands, the Balkan state, which has had a turbulent recent history, likely fields a missile capability otherwise unmatched in Europe (outside of Russia, at least).

A photo recently emerged showing a Serbian Air Force and Air Defense MiG-29 carrying a pair of CM-400 missiles on its inboard underwing hardpoints.

There had also been previous clues that Serbia might be poised to introduce a powerful new weapon of some kind.

According to Belgrade-based defense journalist Petar Vojinović, the chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Gen. Milan Mojsilović, stated last month that “in the air component, we have weapons of a similar maximum range and lethality [to the PULS rocket artillery system].”

Mojsilović was referencing the Israeli-made PULS (Precise and Universal Launching System) since this has been recently introduced by the Serbian Army. You can read more about this ground-launched artillery rocket here.

Furthermore, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić recently alluded to recently introduced military capabilities, stating: “…people couldn’t dream about everything we have, everything we are acquiring, they couldn’t dream.”

As for the CM-400, this weapon was developed and is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), apparently primarily for export. So far, it is not known to be in Chinese military service.

Unveiled in 2012, the CM-400 has a length of around 17 feet, a diameter of 16 inches, and weighs roughly 2,000 pounds. This includes one of two types of warheads, either a high-explosive charge weighing 330 pounds or an armor-piercing warhead weighing 440 pounds.

The CM-400 is a supersonic weapon, and CASIC claims it can reach a speed of Mach 4.5 in the terminal phase of flight. It has often been described as a hypersonic missile, but this is likely not the case: Mach 5 is typically considered to be the boundary between high-supersonic and hypersonic speed.

Nevertheless, it is clearly a very fast missile.

The missile’s range remains unclear, with varying accounts of this aspect of its performance.

At the very least, it is reported to have a range of 155 miles, while some sources claim it can hit targets at a range of 186 miles or even 250 miles.

The CM-400 has also been described as a quasi-ballistic missile, though this is also probably not entirely accurate.

Generally speaking, a quasi-ballistic missile is capable of being used on a depressed trajectory. This makes the missile more capable of significant maneuvering in flight, presenting greater challenges even for opponents with more robust missile defense capabilities.

In the case of the CM-400, the missile reportedly flies on a relatively high ballistic trajectory, powered by its solid rocket motor. It then careens toward its target at a steep angle of descent. While it may also be able to maneuver dynamically during its terminal attack phase, to attack moving ships, it doesn’t fly on a depressed trajectory, as far as we know.

In terms of target sets, the missile has been widely described as an anti-ship missile, specifically even as a ‘carrier-killer’. In fact, the basic weapon can also be configured as an anti-radiation missile, and it is presumed to also have the capability to attack non-emitting ground targets.

Depending on the different targets, the CM-400 can have different seeker heads fitted. All of the versions have an inertial guidance system with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) correction. For the terminal phase, it relies on an infrared/optoelectronic seeker for attacking naval targets, or a passive radar seeker to take out electromagnetic emitters. The circular error probable (CEP) for the anti-radiation version is claimed to be 16-33, reduced to 16 feet or less for the anti-ship version.

Previously, the only confirmed export operator of the CM-400 was Pakistan, which uses it on its JF-17 Thunder multirole fighters. Pakistani officials claimed that the missile saw successful combat use against Indian S-400 air defense systems during the conflict between the countries in May last year. However, this remains unconfirmed.

In Serbian service, the CM-400 is carried by the MiG-29 fighter. These aircraft were first acquired by the then Yugoslavia in the 1980s. Survivors of Operation Allied Force in 1999 were later supplemented by secondhand MiG-29s from Russian and Belarusian stocks. The aircraft have also been moderately upgraded and are now known as MiG-29SM+. Fourteen examples are currently in active Serbian service.

The long-term plan for the Serbian MiG-29s is somewhat unclear, since the country ordered 12 Dassault Rafale multirole fighters, in a deal that you can read more about here.

For the time being, however, in the CM-400, Serbia looks to have secured a capability that is very likely unique in the wider region.

With its combination of very high speed, long range, and ‘fire and forget’ guidance, the missile is ideal for deep standoff strikes. It is optimized for striking hardened strategic targets, day and night, and in all weather.

Thanks to CATIC’s Standalone Weapon Fire Control System (SWFCS), also designated as WZHK-1 by China, the CM-400 (and other Chinese missiles) areis designed to allow foreign models of aircraft to operate Chinese missiles and bombs.

Speaking to Janes during the exhibition, a CATIC official said that the system is designed to equip a range of Chinese air-launched weapons and can be installed on existing weapon hardpoints.

“The system gives air forces around the world the ability to easily integrate Chinese-made weapons with their aircraft without requiring them to make software or hardware changes to the host aircraft,” a CATIC official told Janes about the SWFCS back in 2024.

“The [SWFCS] uses a wireless data system that connects to a tablet in the cockpit that can be worn by the pilot. The tablet acts as a portable wireless controller that the pilot can use to launch the missiles,” the official added. Similar tablet-based soluiions have also been used by Ukraine to rapidly integrate Western weapons on Soviet-era jets, as you can read about here.

Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker Wild Weasel operations, seen here conducting multiple low level standoff strikes against Russian radars with US-supplied AGM-88 HARMs. pic.twitter.com/7CosjXFNkO

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 21, 2024

The same SWFCS interface is also being used to carry another Chinese air-to-ground weapon, the LS-6 precision-guided munition. This is a 1,100-pound-class weapon that combines a general-purpose bomb with a strap-on upgrade package to provide range extension and precision strike capabilities.

Meanwhile, weapons in the CM-400 class are a response to the growing threat posed by ground-based air defense systems, which are pushing combat aircraft ever further from the targets they are assigned to destroy.

With its very high maximum speed, the CM-400 is also well suited to attacking time-sensitive targets, which could also include mobile air defense systems or mobile ballistic missiles, provided their coordinates can be established in the required timeframe.

For Serbia, the new missile would appear to offer a relatively easy way to expand its air-launched, precision standoff strike capability. With a high degree of flexibility, fast reaction time, and the ability to penetrate most enemy air defenses, it is a notably hard-hitting weapon for what is otherwise a fairly modest air force.

It is also interesting that Serbia is looking to China to fulfil its missile needs, rather than Russia.

While Belgrade and Moscow have traditionally had good relations, acquiring Russian arms has become far harder since the West imposed sanctions in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Even before this, however, there were signs that Serbia was looking to move away from Russia as its main arms supplier. As such, it has increasingly moved into a more Western-oriented orbit, with acquisitions from Airbus, for example, but it is also buying weapons from China and Israel.

At the same time, the Serbian military is increasingly switching to more NATO-style doctrine, as well as equipment, including exercises alongside the U.S. Air Force, as you can read about here.

Bearing in mind the fact that it can be integrated on non-Chinese platforms, it will be interesting to see if other nations also adopt the CM-400.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com