China hypersonic missile test shows new military capability

Hypersonic missile test has intensified scrutiny of Beijing’s military build-up.

US general John Hyten has provided the fullest public explanation yet of what the American understanding is of the Chinese hypersonic missile test in August.

A hypersonic missile test China carried out in July involved a sophisticated manoeuvre in which a projectile was fired from the system during the flight, according to US officials, in a sign that the Chinese program is more advanced than previously known.

The hypersonic test and the advanced capabilities of the ­Chinese missile show the pace at which the Chinese are developing advanced weaponry that is outpacing American technology.

US officials have expressed concern that Beijing is moving faster than expected to build platforms that could target American ports or installations in the Indo-Pacific region.

The new details of the ­advanced capabilities of the hypersonic test were earlier reported on Sunday by the Financial Times, which said the flight had occurred in July. There was an additional test of a hypersonic missile in ­August. It wasn’t clear if the projectile that was fired during the July test was a missile or a decoy designed to confuse missile defences.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on the hypersonic missile manoeuvre. But the new capability intensified scrutiny of Beijing’s already sizeable military build-up, US officials said.

Hypersonic missiles fly at least five times the speed of sound and move closer to the Earth than ­intercontinental ballistic missiles, making them extremely difficult for existing radar systems to detect.

In an interview with CBS News last week, air force general John Hyten, who until last week was vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided the fullest public explanation yet of what the US understanding was of the Chinese hypersonic missile test in August.

“They launched a long-range missile,” General Hyten said. “It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China.”

Officials have said the missile missed its target by more than 30km. General Hyten said the missile came “close enough” to hitting its target.

General Hyten said last month that the US had fallen behind in its development of hypersonic technology. In the past five years the US had conducted nine hypersonic tests while China had launched hundreds, he said.

Earlier this month the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, called the test nearly a “Sputnik moment”. Last week Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to say if it was as momentous but noted that the US had many concerns about the military capabilities China continued to develop.

“We continue to move as fast as we can to develop capabilities,” Mr Austin said.

The US hasn’t been as focused or moved as quickly to advance its hypersonic technology as Russia and China, defence officials have said, giving priority to other technologies instead. The US Army said it would be ready to launch a hypersonic missile test in 2024.

Meanwhile, the US Navy is looking to develop a hypersonic weapon that could launch off its destroyers and submarines.

David Thompson, vice-chief of operations at the US Space Force, told the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday that the US had “catching up to do”. China had “an incredibly aggressive hypersonic program for several years”, General Thompson said.

The Wall Street Journal