Recently, the Ukrainian air defense forces showed amazing combat effectiveness in the conflict with Russia, successfully intercepting Russia's most advanced "Dagger" hypersonic missile, which is the first time in the world that a country has been able to do this. This incident has sparked global attention and made people re-examine the development gap between Chinese and Western air defense technology. As an important defense force, the development process of anti-aircraft missiles reflects the changes and competition in the world's military technology. From the earliest "waterfall" to today's mid-course anti-missile system, the technical level of air defense missiles has been continuously improved, and it has also become an important part of the security strategies of various countries.
The development of anti-aircraft missiles originated in Germany during World War II, when Germany developed the world's first anti-aircraft missile "Waterfall" in order to counter Allied air raids. The missile uses infrared guidance technology to automatically track the tail flame of the aircraft, but its slow speed, low accuracy, and short range can only deal with low-flying targets. With the outbreak of the Cold War, the technology of anti-aircraft missiles entered a stage of rapid development.
In 1957, the Soviet Union developed the "SAM-2" air defense missile, which is the world's first anti-aircraft missile using radar guidance technology, which can deal with high-flying targets, and its speed, accuracy, and range have been greatly improved, becoming the most powerful air defense of the socialist camp. Then, in the 1960s, the United States developed the "Patriot" air defense missile, which is a multi-purpose air defense missile, capable of intercepting aircraft, missiles, drones and other targets, its guidance technology is more advanced, can achieve two-way data transmission between fire control radar and missiles, and improve the hit rate. In the 1991 Gulf War, the "Patriot" successfully intercepted the Iraqi "Scud" missile, demonstrating the superiority of Western air defense technology.
The development of China's air defense technology began during the period of Sino-Soviet military cooperation, when in response to the nuclear threat of the United States, China introduced the "Sam-2" air defense missile from the Soviet Union, and in 1964 imitated the "Hongqi-1" air defense missile, which was China's first air defense missile and the starting point of China's air defense technology. With the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, China began to independently develop anti-aircraft missiles, such as "Hongqi-2" and "Hongqi-3", but their technological level still lagged behind the West. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China purchased from Russia the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, a high-performance anti-aircraft missile system capable of intercepting multiple targets at the same time, with strong anti-jamming capabilities, and is considered one of the most advanced anti-aircraft missile systems in the world. The introduction of this system has provided important technical support for the development of China's air defense technology.
China's anti-aircraft missile imitation route is not simply imitated, but also localized. On the basis of the imitation of the S-300 technology, China has improved the performance of anti-aircraft missiles through local innovation, and developed a series of autonomous anti-aircraft missile systems, such as Hongqi-15, Hongqi-17, Hongqi-18, etc. These systems have improved range, accuracy, reaction speed, anti-jamming ability, etc., and are able to deal with a variety of complex air threats. Among them, the Hongqi-18 is China's most advanced air defense missile system, capable of intercepting hypersonic targets, with strong anti-stealth capabilities, known as the "Shield of the East". China's leading position in anti-stealth radar technology has enabled its anti-aircraft missiles to have stronger tracking capabilities and be able to deal with American fighters.
China's mid-course anti-missile system marks a major breakthrough in China's air defense technology, and it is also China's counter-overtaking of the United States and Russia. The mid-course anti-missile system, a system capable of intercepting medium-range ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, is technically difficult and currently only the United States, Russia and China have mastered. In 2010, 2013 and 2018, China conducted three mid-course anti-missile tests, all of which were successful, proving China's ability to innovate independently in this field. The advent of this system has brought China's air defense missile development into a new stage and provided a strong guarantee for China's air defense missile development.
The development process of China's air defense technology, from the initial imitation to today's independent research and development, highlights the rise of China's leading science and technology. China's air defense missiles have reached the world's advanced level and can effectively protect the security of China's airspace. However, if you want to lead the world, it is not enough to rely on imitation. In the future, innovation will be key to determining the position of China's air defense technology on the world stage. How to continue to make efforts in independent research and development has become the top priority in the development of science and technology. In the face of new air threats, such as hypersonics**, drone swarms, space**, etc., China needs to continue to innovate and develop more advanced air defense missile systems to meet future challenges.