China has stunned the United States and rest of the world as well being conducting tests of its nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles.
China conducted not one, but two tests of new hypersonic weapons in July and August, the Financial Times has reported, raising more concerns in the United States about the growing military capabilities of its geopolitical rival.
Beijing launched a rocket that employed a “fractional orbital bombardment” system to propel a nuclear-capable “hypersonic glide vehicle” around the Earth for the first time on July 27, according to four people familiar with US intelligence assessments.
More than two weeks later on August 13, China conducted a second hypersonic test, the report said citing two people familiar with the matter.
The newspaper initially reported, in a story published over the weekend that the first test was done in August, instead of the end of July.
The latest report said that the missile test “stunned” American military and intelligence officials about the Chinese military advance.
It further said that US scientists “were struggling to understand” the hypersonic weapon’s capability, “which the US does not currently possess”.
In response to the FT’s initial report, China’s Foreign Ministry said that it had only launched a space plane and the test took place on July 16.
“It’s understood that this was a routine test of a space vehicle to verify technology of spacecraft’s reusability,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday.
Zhao was quoted by state-owned broadcaster CGTN as saying that the test was “essential” for reducing the cost of spacecraft use, and providing a convenient and inexpensive way for humans to use space for “peaceful purposes”.
US ‘very concerned’
In a statement earlier this week, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the administration of President Joe Biden was very concerned about the latest development in China’s nuclear arms capability and “novel delivery systems”.
Reporters travelling with Biden on Wednesday also asked him if he was concerned by the report, and he replied, “Yes”.
