After becoming the first European country to deploy multiple Chinese air defence systems, Serbia may also have become the first to field a Chinese-origin “hypersonic” air-launched missile.
A MiG-29SM of the Serbian Air Forces was spotted carrying two Chinese CM-400AKG stand-off missiles. The images, widely circulated by military experts and aviation enthusiasts, show the aircraft, with serial number 18205, flying with the missiles clearly visible on the underwing pylons.
This is the first time that the missile has been seen in Serbia, triggering speculation that it may have been delivered in recent months.
The Serbian Ministry of Defence, the Chinese Ministry of National Defence (MND), or Russia (which has armed Serbia with MiG-29s) have not acknowledged the reports so far.
This has led experts to question why Belgrade’s acquisition was not publicised by either side, unlike other military sales that have been widely reported and officially showcased in parades held in the country.
Some OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) analysts have tried to break down the logistics of the potential delivery to connect the dots. “For the past 8 months, Dunav Intel has extensively reported on Egyptian, Emirati, and Jordan military cargo aircraft traffic landing at the Batajnica Air Base repeatedly following a similar logistics corridor through the Middle East and Central Asia. There is a strong possibility that these missiles were delivered during those military cargo flights,” Дунав Intel wrote on X.
The EurAsian Times could not independently verify these claims. However, it appears that Serbia has become the second-largest foreign customer of the CM-400AKG missile after Pakistan.
Pakistan’s military claimed that its JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, armed with CM-400AKG “hypersonic” missiles, destroyed an Indian S-400 Triumf system at Adampur during the May 2025 clash, a claim debunked by Indian PM Narendra Modi himself.
Pakistan released footage showing the JF-17 launching the CM-400AKG missiles. India’s military dismissed the claims as false and baseless, with official fact-checks refuting any damage to the S-400.
The integration of the CM-400AKG onto the MiG-29 possibly employs universal Chinese pylons, which could enable compatibility with a range of other munitions, including PL-series air-to-air missiles, YJ-series anti-ship missiles, LS-series guided bombs, and TL-series standoff weapons.
The development comes amid strengthening ties between Serbia and China over the past few years, particularly as Belgrade diversifies its relations to reduce its reliance on Russia.
In May 2024, for instance, the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping announced their intention to “build a new era of a community with a shared future between China and Serbia” and “deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia.”
Serbia is currently known to be the only country in the whole European continent to use Chinese weapons.
In 2019, Belgrade purchased China’s FK-3 surface-to-air defence system. It is an export version of the HQ-22 missile system comparable to the Russian S-300. The system was delivered by China in 2022 and has since been operated by the Serbian military.
It also acquired the HQ-17AE, a reverse-engineered version of the Russian Tor-M1 system, designed to provide all-weather, low- to medium-altitude air defence for mechanised units such as tank battalions and to protect critical military and civilian infrastructure from low-flying threats, including aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, and cruise missiles.
China also armed Belgrade with 18 FT-8C laser-guided missiles and six CH-92A combat drones in 2020, capable of flying up to 16,400 feet, covering a radius of 250 kilometres, and reaching a top speed of 124 miles per hour. Later, it acquired cutting-edge Chinese CH-95 UAVs, with indications of further purchases.
Beijing, for one, has been able to gain more favour with the Serbians by using its veto power to prevent Kosovo’s recognition and by continuously denouncing NATO’s 1999 air war over Serbia, which also saw the unfortunate NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy.
Despite that, the acquisition of the CM-400AKG missile is considered a big deal, as it has only been exported to Pakistan and Serbia.
What Do We Know About The CM-400AKG?
The CM-400AKG is a supersonic air-launched missile developed in China, primarily for anti-radiation and anti-ship roles. It is a part of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation’s (CASIC) larger CM-400 family of precision-guided weapons.
The missile is reportedly based on the SY-400 guided rocket system and prioritises rapid, high-altitude flight, with a steep terminal dive to achieve overwhelming terminal-phase speed, making interception challenging.
The CM-400AKG was initially marketed as an air-to-surface anti-radiation missile for suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) roles at its public debut at the 2012 Zhuhai Air Show. It was later reported to have entered service with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and to have been integrated into the JF-17 Thunder aircraft, jointly produced by Beijing and Islamabad.
Subsequently, an anti-ship variant of the missile was developed.
Due to its fast speed and standoff range, the anti-ship variant is often referred to as a “carrier killer.” The missile’s quasi-ballistic trajectory allows it to avoid hostile air defences and hit valuable targets such as warships, radars, or bunkers.
The CM-400AKG is a large, solid-fuel rocket rather than a conventional cruise missile because its design emphasises speed and range over low-altitude evasion.
It can carry a payload of about 150–200 kilograms and has an effective range of about 100-250 kilometres. Some sources also call it a hypersonic missile because it reaches speeds of about Mach 4-5 during the terminal phase.
The CM-400AKG uses an inertial navigation system (INS) along with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for mid-course guidance. Therefore, guaranteeing standoff launches.
The CM-400AKG is excellent for anti-access/area denial (A2/AD), as it enables targeting high-value assets such as command centres, warships, and air defence radars from beyond-visual-range.
Additionally, it is considered cost-effective relative to ballistic missiles and lightweight for fighter jets. It essentially transforms platforms like the JF-17 and the MiG-29 into potent standoff strikers, enhancing their overall combat capability.
The missile also reportedly aids salvo launches for saturation attacks and operates in contested airspace, enhancing asymmetric deterrence against military superior enemies—as could be the case with Serbia.
Serbia currently operates a fleet of 14 MiG-29s, including the SM variant, which is a modernised 4th-generation multirole fighter with enhanced avionics, radar, and compatibility with precision-guided munitions. The MiG-29’s stores management system likely required software modifications for the CM-400AKG integration, as well as special pylons to ensure compatibility, according to military experts.
With the addition of extra sensors or electronic warfare pods, this modification turns the MiG-29 from an interceptor or air superiority platform into a long-range attack asset.
That said, the EurAsian Times understands that, even though the image is high-quality, the missile’s deployment status and its official testing on the MiG-29SM remain unconfirmed.
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari9555 (at) gmail.com
- Follow EurAsian Times on Google News
