China Military Bugle, an official media account under the PLA News Media Center, unveils on December 28, 2025 the moment when the Type 055 large destroyer Wuxi conducts a finalization test for the YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile, without disclosing its location or date. Photo: China Military Bugle

An official Chinese media report on Sunday unveiled the moment when a YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile was launched from a Type 055 large destroyer of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. Experts said that the maneuverable hypersonic missile can hit targets from an almost vertical angle, making it very difficult to intercept.

The footage was released on Sunday by China Military Bugle, an official media account under the PLA News Media Center. It shows the finalization test of a ship-to-ship missile on board the 10,000 ton-class large destroyer Wuxi. 

A finalization test is a term often used to describe a final test of a weapon system before it wraps up its design phase and enters production.

Multiple camera angles provided up-close views of the test launch.

According to the footage, a YJ-20 hypersonic missile was launched from one of the vertical launching system (VLS) cells located in the aft section of the Type 055 large destroyer Wuxi. The missile used a cold-launch method, as it was ejected out of the VLS cell before igniting its engine.

The missile hit and destroyed its target, according to the China Military Bugle report.

This is the first time an official media report has shown a live YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile being fired from a warship. 

The YJ-20 was officially unveiled at China’s V-Day military parade held in Beijing on September 3, alongside with three other types of anti-ship missiles, namely the YJ-15 missile, the YJ-19 hypersonic missile and the YJ-17 hypersonic missile. According to official media, they can be carried by multiple launch platforms, including carrier-based fighter jets, surface vessels and submarines.

Maneuverable missiles that can exceed Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, are considered hypersonic missiles, said Chinese military affairs expert Zhang Junshe. He told the Global Times that based on the appearance of the YJ-20, it is a boost-glide missile consisting of a rocket booster and a bicone glide vehicle. The bicone can form shock waves during hypersonic flight, which enables the missile’s air rudders to perform maneuvers during the missile’s terminal flight, boosting its defense penetration capabilities.

The YJ-20 can hit surface vessels via a nearly vertical angle like a ballistic missile, and with its hypersonic speed, it is very difficult to intercept, according to Zhang.

Carried by platforms such as the Type 055 large destroyer, the YJ-20 can be deployed in the far seas, boosting the PLA Navy’s far seas combat capabilities, and enhancing China’s defense depth, Zhang said.