WASHINGTON – China has tested a new space capability with a hypersonic missile, said the Financial Times yesterday.
The report, citing multiple sources familiar with the test, said Beijing in August launched a nuclear-capable missile that circled Earth at low orbit before descending towards its target, which three sources said it missed by over 32km.
FT sources said the hypersonic glide vehicle was carried by a Long March rocket, launches of which are usually announced, though the August test was kept under wraps.
The report said China’s progress on hypersonic weapons “caught US intelligence by surprise”.
Along with China, the US, Russia and at least five other countries are working on hypersonic technology.
Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly at more than five times the speed of sound.
But, ballistic missiles fly high into space in an arc to reach their target, while a hypersonic flies on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching a target more quickly.
Crucially, a hypersonic missile is manoeuvrable like the much slower, often subsonic cruise missile, making it harder to track and defend against.
While nations like the US have developed systems designed to defend against cruise and ballistic missiles, the ability to track and take down a hypersonic missile remains a question.
China has been aggressively developing the technology, seeing it as crucial to defend against US gains in hypersonic and other technologies, according to a recent report by the US Congressional Research Service.
The reported test comes as US-China tensions mount and Beijing steps up military activity near Taiwan, the self-ruling, US-aligned democracy that Beijing considers a province awaiting reunification.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the FT article. – AFP, October 17, 2021
