As hypersonic missiles move from prototypes to deployed weapons, the race to launch them from mobile platforms is reshaping global power balances. Russia and China are fielding aircraft, ships and road-mobile launchers that can fire at more than five times the speed of sound while on the move, while Western programs struggle to keep pace. These seven vehicles show how that gap is opening across air, sea and land.
1) Russia’s MiG-31K Fighter Jet
Russia’s MiG-31K fighter is one of the clearest examples of a combat aircraft adapted specifically to carry an operational hypersonic weapon. Reporting on the global competition notes that the hypersonic missiles race is heating up and that the West is behind both Russia and China in fielded systems. The MiG-31K is configured to launch the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, an air-launched hypersonic missile that can be fired while the aircraft is still maneuvering toward its launch basket.
Analysis of how the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal entered service in 2017 on modified MiG-31K interceptors underscores how early Moscow moved. By pairing a very fast interceptor with a hypersonic glide vehicle, Russia created a mobile launch system that can threaten high-value targets at long range with little warning. For Western planners, this airborne combination complicates air defense and demands new tracking and interception concepts.
2) Russia’s Tu-22M3 Bomber
The Tu-22M3 bomber extends the same concept to a larger, longer-range platform that can also carry the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal. The study of hypersonic glide vehicles notes that the Kinzhal is carried not only by MiG-31K interceptors but also by Tu-22M3 bombers, giving Russia a second airborne vehicle able to launch hypersonic weapons while in flight. This dual basing increases the number of potential launch axes and complicates any attempt to neutralize the system on the ground.
Because the Tu-22M3 can operate at significant distances from Russian territory, it turns the Kinzhal into a theater-wide threat that can be repositioned quickly. In the broader context of the hypersonic arms race, Walter Pincus notes that the United States has entered the competition in earnest but still lags behind Russia and China. The Tu-22M3, already flying with an operational hypersonic payload, illustrates how far ahead those non-Western programs are in integrating such weapons onto existing bombers.
3) Russia’s Kirov-Class Battlecruiser
Russia’s Kirov-class battlecruisers show how large surface combatants are being turned into mobile hypersonic launch platforms at sea. Originally built as “carrier killers” to shadow NATO carrier groups and fire salvos of supersonic anti-ship missiles, these ships were designed from the outset for high-end naval combat against NATO fleets. Their size and power generation make them ideal candidates for modern missile upgrades.
Reporting on fleet modernization notes that upgraded Kirovs will carry a mix of hypersonic Zircon, supersonic Onix and long-range subsonic Kalibr cruise missiles, with TASS describing how these weapons will be combined. Once fitted with Zircon, a Kirov-class ship becomes a roaming hypersonic battery able to threaten surface groups and land targets while underway. For Western navies, this raises the stakes for carrier operations in contested waters and forces investment in new shipboard defenses.
4) Russia’s Yasen-Class Submarine
The Yasen-class nuclear-powered submarine represents the underwater counterpart to Russia’s surface and air hypersonic launchers. Although detailed loadouts are not fully disclosed, the class is widely associated with advanced cruise missiles and is a logical candidate for future hypersonic integration as part of the same competition described in coverage of the hypersonic missiles race. Operating while submerged, a Yasen can reposition stealthily and fire without exposing itself like a surface ship or aircraft.
From a strategic perspective, a hypersonic-capable Yasen would compress warning times even further, since launch points could be close to coastlines or critical sea lanes. Western anti-submarine warfare forces would have to track not just torpedoes and conventional cruise missiles but also very fast, maneuvering weapons that are harder to intercept. This underwater mobility amplifies the asymmetry already noted between Russian and Western hypersonic deployment timelines.
5) China’s DF-17 Transporter Erector Launcher
China’s DF-17 transporter erector launcher is a road-mobile vehicle purpose-built to fire a hypersonic glide vehicle from concealed positions. Analyses of the hypersonic missiles race highlight that the West is behind both Russia and China in fielding such operational systems, and the DF-17 is central to that assessment. Mounted on a wheeled chassis, the launcher can move along highways, disperse into rural areas and raise its missile only shortly before firing.
This mobility makes preemptive strikes against DF-17 units extremely difficult, since they can constantly shift location and use decoys. When combined with a hypersonic glide vehicle that can maneuver in the upper atmosphere, the system gives Beijing a survivable, hard-to-track strike option against regional bases and ships. For Western militaries, it underscores how far they must go to match the combination of hypersonic speed and ground mobility already in Chinese service.
6) U.S. B-52 Stratofortress Bomber
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress illustrates both Western potential and current limitations in airborne hypersonic launch. The aircraft is described as an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber, and the B-52 was designed and built by Boeing for nuclear and conventional missions. Its large payload capacity and range make it a natural candidate to carry future hypersonic missiles while cruising far from defended airspace.
However, unlike the MiG-31K or Tu-22M3 already flying with the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, the B-52 is still in the integration and testing phase for hypersonic weapons, reflecting the lag described by Walter Pincus in his assessment of the hypersonic arms race. Until operational missiles are fielded on the B-52, the United States will rely on legacy cruise missiles that lack hypersonic speed, leaving a gap in rapid, on-the-move strike options compared with Russian and Chinese aircraft.
7) China’s Type 055 Destroyer
China’s Type 055 destroyer shows how Asian naval innovation is turning large surface combatants into versatile missile trucks that can fire while underway. Coverage of these ships notes that “ATTACK! China’s New Type 055 Destroyers Are Firing Land Attack Missiles,” highlighting how the New Type 055 Destroyers Are Firing Land Attack Missiles using systems such as The DH-10. That missile is described as being based largely on U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile technologies, underscoring how Beijing has learned from earlier Western designs.
While the DH-10 itself is not hypersonic, the same vertical launch architecture can host more advanced weapons as China develops them, positioning the Type 055 as a future mobile hypersonic platform. In the context of a race where the West is already behind, each new destroyer that leaves port with flexible launch cells tightens the window for Western navies to adapt. The ship’s combination of sensors and missile capacity makes it a central tool in projecting Chinese power across contested seas.
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