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Chinese military scientists have unveiled a rare glimpse into one of the most advanced frontiers of aerospace technology: a prototype of a morphing hypersonic vehicle capable of flying at speeds exceeding Mach 5. The missile, revealed in a published peer-reviewed paper, features a pair of retractable wings – a groundbreaking design that allows it to dynamically adapt its aerodynamic profile mid-flight. When stowed inside the fuselage, the wings minimise drag for high-speed cruising. When extended, they generate additional lift and significantly improve manoeuvrability. Crucially, the degree of wing deployment can be finely adjusted, enabling real-time changes to the vehicle’s overall aerodynamic shape and flight characteristics – a capability long considered the “holy grail” of hypersonic flight. The design was detailed in a paper published on October 20 in Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, China’s leading aerospace journal, by a research team led by Professor Wang Peng from the College of Aerospace Science and Engineering at the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT). The study confirmed the vehicle’s novel control algorithms and key components had successfully passed hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) ground tests – a critical milestone indicating the system is not just theoretical, but viable for real-world deployment. “High-speed morphing vehicles represent a cutting-edge direction in next-generation aerospace platforms,” the authors wrote. “By dynamically adjusting their structure during flight to adapt to varying aerodynamic conditions, these vehicles demonstrate exceptional adaptability across wide speed and altitude ranges, offering significant potential for multi-role missions and enhanced penetration capabilities. “Compared to traditional fixed-geometry high-speed vehicles, morphing vehicles can optimise aerodynamic performance in response to complex flight environments, dramatically improving manoeuvrability and mission flexibility.” For years, Chinese scientists have claimed their hypersonic weapons can target not only fixed installations but also highly mobile assets, including advanced stealth fighters like the F-22 and B-21 bomber. These assertions were met with scepticism – and even ridicule – from many Western experts, who long operated under the assumption that hypersonic missiles sacrifice manoeuvrability for speed. The prevailing dogma held that the faster a vehicle flies, the harder it is to steer. But China appears to have shattered that paradigm. During a massive parade on September 3, Beijing showcased the Changjian-1000 (CJ-1000) hypersonic cruise missile – a weapon reportedly capable of striking ground targets and engaging moving maritime threats such as aircraft carriers and airborne early-warning aircraft thousands of kilometres away, even if those targets attempt evasive manoeuvres. Despite intense global speculation that the CJ-1000 employs morphing technology to achieve such unprecedented versatility, the missile was displayed fully enclosed in a protective canister, revealing no visible details. Now, Wang’s research offers an extremely rare window into this once-secret technology. Controlling a vehicle at hypersonic speeds is inherently difficult. At Mach 5 and above, surface temperatures can exceed 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 Fahrenheit), triggering extreme physical and chemical changes in the airframe. Introducing morphing structures – like moving wings – multiplies the complexity. The shifting geometry generates massive uncertainty in aerodynamic models, demanding extraordinary computational power to calculate stable control commands in real time. Yet hypersonic platforms operate under severe constraints: limited on-board power, tight payload space and unforgiving battlefield conditions. The on-board flight computers, while highly reliable, cannot match the processing power of ground-based systems. As a result, control algorithms must be lightweight, ultra-efficient and resilient – capable of making split-second decisions with minimal delay. Even more challenging is that mechanical actuators moving the wings are subject to inherent lag. Without precise control, these movements can induce high-frequency, destructive vibrations – a phenomenon known as “control chattering”, which can damage the vehicle or destabilise flight. Suppressing such oscillations remains one of the most formidable challenges in morphing vehicle development worldwide. Wang’s team has now demonstrated a revolutionary control algorithm specifically designed to overcome these barriers. Their approach integrates high-order fully actuated system modelling, prescribed performance control and super-twisting sliding mode control – a sophisticated fusion of techniques that achieves high precision and robustness while drastically reducing computational load. Critically, the algorithm has been verified in hardware-in-the-loop experiments, proving it can run in real time on embedded flight processors, similar to those used in actual missiles. In tests, the system achieved attitude tracking errors under 1 degree, with smooth, chatter-free actuator responses – validating its readiness for real-flight applications. Beyond military use, morphing hypersonic technology holds transformative potential for civil aviation: enabling intercontinental flights in an hour or two, point-to-point global transport and efficient space access vehicles for reusable launch systems. Yet significant engineering challenges remain. The prototype photo reveals visible gaps where the wings extend – raising questions about thermal sealing under extreme heat, structural integrity and stealth performance. Key challenges include preventing scorching plasma from penetrating the fuselage and minimising the radar cross-section despite moving parts.
