BEIJING: China fired a hypersonic weapon as it approached a target during a test in July, the Financial Times reported, adding the Pentagon was surprised because neither country had the capability.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with intelligence, reported that a hypersonic glide vehicle launched by China fired the projectile over the South China Sea while traveling at five times the speed of sound.
The newspaper said some military experts believe the air-to-air missile was fired. Others thought it was a countermeasure that could harm missile defense systems’ ability to eliminate hypersonic warheads, which could carry nuclear warheads in a warhead.
The Financial Times reported last month that China tested hypersonic weapons on July 27 and again on August 13, raising concerns in Washington about Beijing’s growing military capabilities. China’s foreign ministry said the nation had tested “a routine spacecraft” to see if it was reusable.
If China’s test of hypersonic weapons is confirmed, it would suggest that the President Xi Jinping They may be exploring orbital attacks as a way to counter American progress in shooting down ballistic missiles before they threaten the American homeland. Last year, us Navy Successfully intercepted a simulated intercontinental ballistic missile.
Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow of the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie, said, “I certainly can’t think of any technical precedent for a hypersonic glide vehicle releasing some sort of payload – to be a missile by FT story Is contained.” Endowment for International Peace.
“I do wonder, though, if this ‘missile’ could be some other type of payload, perhaps a countermeasure or some other kind of support mechanism,” he said. Panda said there are questions about the military utility of such demonstrations, and that the international community should not assume that China intends to deploy such a weapon in the field.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with intelligence, reported that a hypersonic glide vehicle launched by China fired the projectile over the South China Sea while traveling at five times the speed of sound.
The newspaper said some military experts believe the air-to-air missile was fired. Others thought it was a countermeasure that could harm missile defense systems’ ability to eliminate hypersonic warheads, which could carry nuclear warheads in a warhead.
The Financial Times reported last month that China tested hypersonic weapons on July 27 and again on August 13, raising concerns in Washington about Beijing’s growing military capabilities. China’s foreign ministry said the nation had tested “a routine spacecraft” to see if it was reusable.
If China’s test of hypersonic weapons is confirmed, it would suggest that the President Xi Jinping They may be exploring orbital attacks as a way to counter American progress in shooting down ballistic missiles before they threaten the American homeland. Last year, us Navy Successfully intercepted a simulated intercontinental ballistic missile.
Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow of the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie, said, “I certainly can’t think of any technical precedent for a hypersonic glide vehicle releasing some sort of payload – to be a missile by FT story Is contained.” Endowment for International Peace.
“I do wonder, though, if this ‘missile’ could be some other type of payload, perhaps a countermeasure or some other kind of support mechanism,” he said. Panda said there are questions about the military utility of such demonstrations, and that the international community should not assume that China intends to deploy such a weapon in the field.
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