{"id":12079,"date":"2021-10-17T11:09:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-17T03:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=12079"},"modified":"2021-10-17T11:09:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T03:09:45","slug":"china-tests-earth-circling-hypersonic-missile-us-intelligence-surprised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=12079","title":{"rendered":"China tests Earth-Circling Hypersonic Missile, US intelligence surprised"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 — China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that circled the globe before speeding toward its target, the Financial Times\u00a0reported<\/a>, demonstrating\u00a0an advanced\u00a0space capability that\u00a0caught US intelligence by surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People familiar with the test said the Chinese military launched a rocket that carried a hypersonic glide vehicle that flew through low-orbit space before cruising down towards its target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles, according to three people briefed on the intelligence. But two said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The test has raised new questions about why the US often underestimated China\u2019s military modernization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have no idea how they did this,\u201d said a fourth person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US, Russia, and China are all developing hypersonic weapons, including glide vehicles that are launched into space on a rocket but orbit the earth under their own momentum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hypersonic\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

They fly at five times the speed of sound, slower than a ballistic missile. But they do not follow the fixed parabolic trajectory of a ballistic missile and are maneuverable, making them harder to track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor Fravel, an expert on Chinese nuclear weapons policy who was unaware of the test, said a hypersonic glide vehicle armed with a nuclear warhead could help China \u201cnegate\u201d US missile defense systems that are designed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHypersonic glide vehicles\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009fly at lower trajectories and can maneuver in flight, which makes them hard to track and destroy,\u201d said Fravel, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fravel added that it would be \u201cdestabilizing\u201d if China fully developed and deployed such a weapon, but he cautioned that a test did not necessarily mean that Beijing would deploy the capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mounting concern about China\u2019s nuclear capabilities comes as Beijing continues to build up its conventional military forces and engages in increasingly assertive military activity near Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions between the US and China have risen as the Biden administration has taken a tough tack on Beijing, which has accused Washington of being overly hostile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US military officials in recent months have warned about China\u2019s growing nuclear capabilities, particularly after the release of satellite imagery that showed it was building more than 200 intercontinental missile silos. China is not bound by any arms-control deals and has been unwilling to engage the US in talks about its nuclear arsenal and policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August, General Glen VanHerck, head of North American Aerospace Defense Command, told a conference that China had \u201crecently demonstrated very advanced hypersonic glide vehicle capabilities\u201d. He warned that the Chinese capability would \u201cprovide significant challenges to my Norad capability to provide threat warning and attack assessment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of the people familiar with the Chinese test said the weapon could, in theory, fly over the South Pole. That would pose a big challenge for the US military because its missiles defense systems are focused on the northern polar route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revelation comes as the Biden administration undertakes the Nuclear Posture Review, an analysis of policy and capabilities mandated by Congress that has pitted arms-control advocates against those who believe the US must do more to modernize its nuclear arsenal because of China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon did not comment on the report but expressed concern about China. \u201cWe have made clear our concerns about the military capabilities China continues to pursue, capabilities that only increase tensions in the region and beyond,\u201d said John Kirby, spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is one reason why we hold China as our number one pacing challenge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Asian national security official said the Chinese military conducted the test in August. China generally announces the launch of Long March rockets \u2014 the type used to launch the hypersonic glide vehicle into orbit \u2014 but it conspicuously concealed the August launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The security official, and another Chinese security expert close to the People\u2019s Liberation Army, said the weapon was being developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAAA is a research institute under China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the main state-owned firm that makes missile systems and rockets for China\u2019s space program. Both sources said the hypersonic glide vehicle was launched on a Long March rocket, which is used for the space program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NMT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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