WASHINGTON • China has tested a new space capability with a hypersonic missile, the Financial Times reported.
The report, published last Saturday and citing multiple sources familiar with the test, said the Chinese government in August launched a nuclear-capable missile that circled the Earth at low orbit before descending towards its target, which three sources said it missed by more than 32km.
FT sources said the hypersonic glide vehicle was carried by a Long March rocket, launches of which Beijing usually announces though the August test was kept under wraps. The report added that China's progress on hypersonic weapons "caught US intelligence by surprise".
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he would not comment on the specifics of the report but added: "We have made clear our concerns about the military capabilities China continues to pursue, capabilities that only increase tensions in the region and beyond. That is one reason why we hold China as our No. 1 pacing challenge."
Along with China, the United States, Russia and at least five other countries are working on hypersonic technology.
Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons, are capable of flying at more than five times the speed of sound.
A ballistic missile flies high into space in an arc to reach its target, while a hypersonic one flies on a trajectory low in the atmosphere and can thus reach its target more quickly.
Crucially, a hypersonic missile can be manoeuvred, making it harder to track and defend against.
While countries 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 American gains in hypersonic and other technologies, according to a recent report by the US Congressional Research Service.
The reported missile test comes amid mounting US-China tensions and as Beijing steps up military activity near Taiwan.
China regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
