The Next World War | Episode 20 | The Hypersonic Blitz
China launches a devastating wave of thousands of missiles across the Indo-Pacific, paving the way for the invasion of Taiwan.
If you'd like to support me to keep this story going: https://www.patreon.com/FlatCircleHistory
Background:
Episode 20 opens within seconds of where we left off with the surprise drone attacks at the end of episode 19. This is the big one - the missile event that has been endlessly discussed, studied, wargamed and worried over for a decade. Will China's intermediate and long-range ballistic missiles, including the feared DF-26B "Carrier Killers" work as advertised? Will the US's "Golden Dome" Tiered Missile Defense Architecture work as advertised? This is what I was looking to explore.
A TON of time went into episode 20, from numerous interviews with various SMEs, to pouring through volumes of articles, to playtesting for timing details for the script using the game Command Modern Operations. The scope and scale of events in this episode proved fascinating, daunting and deeply troubling.
Commentary:
Pronunciations of places, names and translations are my best guess or through open resources such as Google Translation, etc. As always, uniforms are not exact. The rank shown on the uniforms of some of the characters are also inaccurate because they are not available in the gaming platforms used. Some of the kit and equipment shown are representations because of limited available mods. In some instances, replacements had to be made, including two scenes in particular where I had to use ARMA instead of DCS and had to use the only carrier model available, which is not the GW. I'm mostly a One Man Show, so I do what I can with the time/resources available.
Gaming platforms used for the filming of this episode included DCS, ARMA3, Command Modern Operations and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Sources (incomplete list):
Carrier Killer - China's Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the early 21st Century
https://www.casematepublishers.com/9781915070647/carrier-killer/
Our First Look At Land-Based Aegis Missile Defense System In Guam
https://www.twz.com/news-features/our-first-look-at-land-based-aegis-missile-defense-system-in-guam
Missile Defense Agency Provides New Details On Defense of Guam
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/10/missile-defense-agency-provides-new-details-on-defense-of-guam/
The Ultimate Guide to THAAD: America’s Kinetic Shield in a Volatile World
https://thedefensepost.com/2025/06/18/thaad-guide/
USS Cheyenne (SSN-773)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cheyenne_(SSN-773)
Roosevelt’s fireside chat after Pearl Harbor
https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-9-1941-fireside-chat-19-war-japan
Obama announcing Bin Laden killing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbrwIE_GhrM
Bush announcing start of Iraq war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwxI_l84dc
Cratering Effects - Chinese Missile Threats to US Air Bases in the Indo-Pacific
https://www.stimson.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cratering-Effects-Report_Dec-6_WEB.pdf
PACAF STRATEGY 2030
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2023SAF/PACAF_Strategy_2030.pdf
Upgraded Early Warning Radars
https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/2197738/upgraded-early-warning-radars/
U.S. Defense Infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific: Background and Issues for Congress
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47589
Island in the crosshairs
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-CHINA/GUAM/myvmbqngnpr/
Missiles of China | Missile Threat - CSIS
https://missilethreat.csis.org/country/china/
The U.S. Fleet Could Lose Four Aircraft Carriers Defending Taiwan
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/01/10/think-tank-the-us-fleet-could-lose-four-aircraft-carriers-defending-taiwan/
China Is Obsessed with Sinking America’s Aircraft Carriers
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/china-obsessed-sinking-americas-aircraft-carriers-209719
The First Battle of the Next War - Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan
https://www.csis.org/analysis/first-battle-next-war-wargaming-chinese-invasion-taiwan
Taiwan's Air and Missile Defence. Part 2: Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3
https://platform.opennuclear.org/thoughtroom/quick-takes/taiwans-air-and-missile-defence-part-2-patriot-pac-2-and-pac-3
Music:
YouTube Studio
Echoes of Time v2 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Soundstripe
Retribution - Wicked Cinema
QVNTD2QKQXZFDUSI
Storm’s Coming, by Cody Martin
WIAPQ3THTBWDTWXQ
Double Agent, by Hill
LOI7PDIK9UVBLV4A
Retribution, by Wicked Cinema
QVNTD2QKQXZFDUSI
China launches a devastating wave of thousands of missiles across the Indo-Pacific, paving the way for the invasion of Taiwan.
If you’d like to support me to keep this story going: https://www.patreon.com/FlatCircleHistory
Background:
Episode 20 opens within seconds of where we left off with the surprise drone attacks at the end of episode 19. This is the big one – the missile event that has been endlessly discussed, studied, wargamed and worried over for a decade. Will China’s intermediate and long-range ballistic missiles, including the feared DF-26B “Carrier Killers” work as advertised? Will the US’s “Golden Dome” Tiered Missile Defense Architecture work as advertised? This is what I was looking to explore.
A TON of time went into episode 20, from numerous interviews with various SMEs, to pouring through volumes of articles, to playtesting for timing details for the script using the game Command Modern Operations. The scope and scale of events in this episode proved fascinating, daunting and deeply troubling.
Commentary:
Pronunciations of places, names and translations are my best guess or through open resources such as Google Translation, etc. As always, uniforms are not exact. The rank shown on the uniforms of some of the characters are also inaccurate because they are not available in the gaming platforms used. Some of the kit and equipment shown are representations because of limited available mods. In some instances, replacements had to be made, including two scenes in particular where I had to use ARMA instead of DCS and had to use the only carrier model available, which is not the GW. I’m mostly a One Man Show, so I do what I can with the time/resources available.
Gaming platforms used for the filming of this episode included DCS, ARMA3, Command Modern Operations and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Sources (incomplete list):
Carrier Killer – China’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the early 21st Century
https://www.casematepublishers.com/9781915070647/carrier-killer/
Our First Look At Land-Based Aegis Missile Defense System In Guam
https://www.twz.com/news-features/our-first-look-at-land-based-aegis-missile-defense-system-in-guam
Missile Defense Agency Provides New Details On Defense of Guam
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/10/missile-defense-agency-provides-new-details-on-defense-of-guam/
The Ultimate Guide to THAAD: America’s Kinetic Shield in a Volatile World
https://thedefensepost.com/2025/06/18/thaad-guide/
USS Cheyenne (SSN-773)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cheyenne_(SSN-773)
Roosevelt’s fireside chat after Pearl Harbor
https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-9-1941-fireside-chat-19-war-japan
Obama announcing Bin Laden killing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbrwIE_GhrM
Bush announcing start of Iraq war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwxI_l84dc
Cratering Effects – Chinese Missile Threats to US Air Bases in the Indo-Pacific
https://www.stimson.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cratering-Effects-Report_Dec-6_WEB.pdf
PACAF STRATEGY 2030
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2023SAF/PACAF_Strategy_2030.pdf
Upgraded Early Warning Radars
https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/2197738/upgraded-early-warning-radars/
U.S. Defense Infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific: Background and Issues for Congress
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47589
Island in the crosshairs
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-CHINA/GUAM/myvmbqngnpr/
Missiles of China | Missile Threat – CSIS
https://missilethreat.csis.org/country/china/
The U.S. Fleet Could Lose Four Aircraft Carriers Defending Taiwan
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/01/10/think-tank-the-us-fleet-could-lose-four-aircraft-carriers-defending-taiwan/
China Is Obsessed with Sinking America’s Aircraft Carriers
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/china-obsessed-sinking-americas-aircraft-carriers-209719
The First Battle of the Next War – Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan
https://www.csis.org/analysis/first-battle-next-war-wargaming-chinese-invasion-taiwan
Taiwan’s Air and Missile Defence. Part 2: Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3
https://platform.opennuclear.org/thoughtroom/quick-takes/taiwans-air-and-missile-defence-part-2-patriot-pac-2-and-pac-3
Music:
YouTube Studio
Echoes of Time v2 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Soundstripe
Retribution – Wicked Cinema
QVNTD2QKQXZFDUSI
Storm’s Coming, by Cody Martin
WIAPQ3THTBWDTWXQ
Double Agent, by Hill
LOI7PDIK9UVBLV4A
Retribution, by Wicked Cinema
QVNTD2QKQXZFDUSI
