China possesses a highly classified interceptor missile known in the West as the SC-19, which could be considered one of the most secretive missiles in the country’s arsenal. One key indicator of its secrecy is the complete absence of publicly available images. Only one digital render showing a possible configuration of the SC-19 exists.
Nevertheless, available data suggests that China conducted seven test launches of the SC-19 between 2010 and 2023. According to GlobalSecurity, the most recent known test occurred on April 14, 2023. “China successfully conducted a land-based, mid-course antiballistic missile (ABM) technical test on 14 April 2023, marking China's seventh publicly announced land-based ABM test since 2010,” the source informs.
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The previous SC-19 test took place on February 4, 2021, and the first known use of SC-19 as a missile defense interceptor was recorded in 2010. That test reportedly resulted in a successful intercept at an altitude of around 250 kilometers.
This clarification is important because prior to 2010, China had used the SC-19 in anti-satellite (ASAT) roles. The missile’s initial flight tests occurred in 2005 and 2006. On January 11, 2007, China used the SC-19 to destroy a weather satellite in space, becoming the second country in the world after the United States to develop such capability.
The SC-19 is believed to outperform the Chinese HQ-19 missile system – a weapon already compared to russia’s S-500 and the U.S. THAAD. This suggests the SC-19 could be even more capable than both of these widely known systems.
Due to this long-standing secrecy, the SC-19's technical characteristics remain largely unknown. However, The War Zone speculated in 2019 that it may be derived from the Kaituozhe-1 (KT-1) space launch vehicle:
“One of China’s developments in this regard is actually a derivative of the HQ-19, the SC-19, which mates components from the former missile with significantly larger rocket motor from the Kaituozhe-1 space launch vehicle”.
This would imply an interesting design approach by Chinese engineers. The KT-1 itself is a space launch vehicle created as a modified version of the DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile, augmented with an additional third stage.
The air of secrecy has led to confusion in classifying China's missile defense efforts. While some sources describe Dong Neng (DN) as a separate program, others suggest it may be just another variant of the SC-19. Here’s what Popular Science says:
“The DN-3’s rocket motor is believed to be similar to that of the SC-19 anti-satellite (ASAT) missile.”
Thus, in the case of Dong Neng, what appears to be a separate project may in fact be another iteration or evolution of the SC-19 platform.
As Defense Express reported, China was developing a secret revolutionary submarine or the World's largest underwater combat drone. We also wrote on how China was processing lessons from russia-Ukraine war on strategic level
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