China’s recent test of a hypersonic missile – a weapon described as faster, more maneuverable and a greater threat to air-defense systems than a conventional intercontinental ballistic missile – has increased tension between the U.S. and China.
It’s “a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system, and is very concerning,” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a Bloomberg TV interview Oct. 28. Milley's statement was the first official U.S. acknowledgement of the test.
Hypersonic missiles travel at Mach 5, five times the speed of sound while maneuvering in the atmosphere. That's faster than 3,800 mph. Ballistic missiles can reach 15,000 mph while ascending into space. Warheads travel at about 2,000 mph once they re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
China's test in August was initially reported by the Financial Times on Oct. 16. The Times said the missile circled the Earth at a low altitude before descending to its target, which it missed by about 19 miles.
Trajectory of China's hypersonic and ballistic missiles
The test is significant because it shows China has made unexpected progress on its hypersonic weapons systems and may initiate a new arms race, the Guardian reported.
The test prompted comparison of a "Sputnik moment," an historical reference to the 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union. That was a shock to Americans who were forced to realize the U.S. was being challenged for technological superiority.
“I don’t know if it’s quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it’s very close to that. It has all of our attention,” Milley told Bloomberg.
However, it's not just the hypersonic vehicle and its maneuverability that has attracted attention, as Foreign Policy reports: It's how the vehicle entered orbit.
It used a version of the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, a low-orbit missile delivery method developed by the Soviets during the Cold War. A missile descending from low orbit gives less time to be detected.
That method of delivery also means the U.S. could be attacked by flights over the South Pole. American defense systems concentrate on missile attacks from the north. READ MORE...
