Tuesday, November 23, 2021
US experts are amazed
China’s hypersonic missile is a mystery
The test of a Chinese hypersonic missile worries the US in July. The missile reportedly fired a projectile at five times the speed of sound. Experts are now puzzling over the technical feasibility that pushes the “limits of physics”.
According to media reports, a hypersonic missile system tested by China in the summer fired a projectile itself during the flight. China launched a rocket in July that orbited the earth in low orbit and then launched a hypersonic glider, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. This glider then fired a projectile at five times the speed of sound.
This is an undertaking that “pushes the boundaries of physics” and which presumably no other country is capable of, the newspaper wrote. According to the report, it is unclear what the purpose of the projectile fired by the hypersonic glider is. It could therefore be used to confuse missile defense systems – or to attack a target yourself. The “Financial Times” also reported on the projectile fired during the test. US military experts would try to understand how this could be technically possible.
The US expressed concern over a similar Chinese supersonic missile test in October. The Chief of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Mark Milley, drew a comparison with the so-called Sputnik shock of 1957 – the completely surprising first flight of a Soviet Sputnik satellite through earth orbit for the West. Beijing then denied reports of a supersonic missile test. It was a routine test for “reusable space technology,” said a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The USA, Russia, North Korea and at least four other countries are also working on hypersonic missile technology. Like ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles can carry nuclear weapons. However, while ballistic missiles fly in a high arc, hypersonic missiles remain in low orbit. They are also remotely controlled and can change their trajectory, which makes launching missile defense systems much more difficult.