[News Terms] China Completes World's Largest Wind Tunnel

'Pungdong (風洞·wind tunnel)' is a tunnel-shaped device that artificially generates wind at the speed of sound or higher to experiment on the effects of fast and strong airflow on flying objects.

When the speed exceeds Mach 1.0, the speed of sound, extreme flow phenomena occur. A model of a hypersonic flying object such as a missile or fighter jet is placed in front of the long wind tunnel that blows wind at speeds above the speed of sound, and comprehensive measurements of air pressure, wind volume, air resistance, and heat resistance of materials are taken. It is considered an essential infrastructure for the development of hypersonic weapons, in which the United States, China, and Russia are competing.

A domestic specialized institution is conducting wind tunnel tests on the 'KF-X'.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

On the 7th (local time), the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that China completed the world's largest and fastest wind tunnel after five years of construction.

According to the report, the Chinese Academy of Mechanics stated on the 2nd that the final evaluation of the 4-meter diameter wind tunnel 'JF-22' located in Huairou District, north of Beijing, was conducted on the 30th of last month, confirming that it has an environment capable of testing the flight of hypersonic weapons at a top speed of Mach 30 (10.2 km/s). The Academy claims this is the world's largest and most powerful wind tunnel.

SCMP predicted that with the completion of the JF-22, China could surpass competitors such as the United States and Russia in the development of hypersonic weapons. SCMP reported that the United States currently has a wind tunnel with a diameter of 0.8 meters and a speed of Mach 10 (3.4 km/s).

The larger the wind tunnel, the larger aircraft models, or even entire hypersonic weapons at actual size, can be placed inside, allowing for more accurate flight data. Most intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) have a diameter of less than 4 meters. Hypersonic weapons flying at speeds more than five times the speed of sound cannot be intercepted by existing missile defense (MD) systems and are called 'game changers' that could alter the course of war.