Sunday 17 October 2021
America shocked and worried
China successfully test-fired hypersonic missile
Hypersonic missiles orbit the earth at high speed in low orbit. So defense systems find it difficult to stop them. The US is researching it, Russia – and surprisingly China too: “We don’t know how they did it,” says a concerned US insider.
According to a media report, China is making great progress in developing hypersonic missiles. As reported by the “Financial Times”, citing informed circles, the People’s Republic already in August tested a new high-speed sliding body. China is clearly ahead of the US in this technology.
Accordingly, China launched a nuclear weapons-grade projectile with a . sent with Long March Missile in Spacewhere it orbited in low Earth orbit before heading for its destination. According to three different sources, however, the projectile missed its target by more than 30 kilometres. According to the report, US intelligence services should nevertheless be surprised by China’s new military capabilities. “We don’t know how they did it,” said one of the insiders.
The Chinese Defense Ministry initially declined to comment on the report. A spokesman simply said that China is pursuing an “inherently defensive military strategy” that is not directed against any country.
“Hard to catch and stop”
Defense Department spokesman John Kirby also declined to comment on the details of the report. He added, however, that “concerns have been expressed about China’s military capabilities, which are only increasing tensions in the region and beyond.” This is the reason “why we see China as our biggest challenge”.
In addition to China, the United States and Russia are also developing hypersonic military missiles. North Korea also announced last month that it had tested such a missile. At least four other countries are also researching hypersonic technology.
Like ballistic missiles, such missiles can carry nuclear warheads. However, while ballistic missiles fly in a high arc on a clearly defined course through space, hypersonic missiles can orbit Earth in a low orbit at more than five times the speed of sound – about 6200 kilometers per hour. They are also remote-controlled and therefore difficult to detect and intercept by defense systems.
