China’s Victory Day parade drew world attention to a single weapon system that Beijing showcased with pride: the YJ-21, promoted at home as a “killer missile”. Chinese media claims the missile can reach Mach 6, six times the speed of sound, and strike targets too quickly for standard air defence systems to intercept. For Indian defence planners, the question is whether this new missile represents a genuine leap forward or another bold claim from Beijing. The comparison with BrahMos, India’s flagship supersonic cruise missile, has become inevitable.
The YJ-21 descends from the YJ-12, which has been reported to have a range of anywhere between 250 and 400 kilometres and speeds approaching Mach 4 depending on the payload and altitude. BrahMos originally matched that range at 290 kilometres and now reaches 350 kilometres, flying at up to Mach 3.5. China’s missile may therefore appear marginally faster on paper, but range and speed alone do not tell the full story.
How the two missiles work
BrahMos uses a two-stage design. A solid rocket booster accelerates it to cruise speed and then a liquid-fuel ramjet maintains its velocity. This approach has no moving parts in the ramjet stage, which keeps the missile light, simple and reliable. Chinese engineers are believed to have opted for an integrated ramjet on the YJ-12 and YJ-21 family, which some analysts say is less efficient than the Indian configuration.
Guidance is another area where the two systems diverge. BrahMos relies on an inertial navigation system backed by satellite signals for the mid-course phase, and then switches to active radar homing in the terminal phase. Once locked on to a target it can calculate its own trajectory without further input. Chinese missiles use the Beidou satellite network alongside inertial navigation and an active radar seeker that Beijing says can achieve more than 90 percent terminal accuracy. But BrahMos has demonstrated a circular error probability of roughly one metre, far tighter than the reported five to seven metres of the YJ-12.
Warheads, versatility and the road ahead
In warhead weight China has an advantage. The YJ-12 is said to carry between 200 and 500 kilograms, including a possible nuclear payload of 500 kilograms. BrahMos carries a 300-kilogram high explosive or semi-armour-piercing warhead with limited nuclear capability. Yet precision matters as much as payload. A lighter but extremely accurate strike can still neutralise a high-value target.
Where BrahMos stands out is in operational flexibility. It has been adapted for launch from ships, road-mobile launchers, submarines and aircraft. The Indian Navy already fields the ship-based variant across several destroyers, while the Indian Army deploys it on land. The air-launched BrahMos-A has been integrated on the Su-30MKI and a next-generation version will extend compatibility to the MiG-29K, HAL Tejas and Rafale. Chinese missiles can also be fired from multiple platforms, but the Indian system’s expanding ecosystem gives it a head start in deployment.
India is not standing still. BrahMos-II, a joint effort with Russia, is under development as a hypersonic missile capable of Mach 8 and a range of 600 to 800 kilometres. This project is intended to counter future Chinese and Pakistani acquisitions such as the CM-400AKG and whatever follows the YJ-21.
For now, Chinese claims about the YJ-21’s performance remain untested outside parades and promotional videos. Past experience with Chinese weapons, from aircraft carriers to missile seekers, shows that specifications can lag behind publicity. By contrast, BrahMos has a proven record of precision, reliability, and versatility. From an Indian perspective, the unveiling of the YJ-21 is a reminder that the regional missile race is intensifying, but it also highlights the advantage of investing in systems that deliver real-world performance rather than headline speeds.
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