Hypersonic Missile Tests

China conducted two nuclear-capable hypersonic missile tests this summer, according to an October 21 Financial Times report. United States intelligence officials have been left “stunned” by China’s advanced missile systems which, one official said, “the U.S. does not currently possess.”

A prior Financial Times report covered an August 13 test in which the missile missed its target by about two dozen miles. The test caught U.S. officials off guard. One even told the Times, “We have no idea how they did this.”

But the latest report reveals an even earlier July 27 hypersonic missile test that government scientists are “struggling to understand.” China reportedly used a “fractional orbital bombardment” system, which propelled a nuclear-capable glide vehicle around the Earth for the first time.

Read more at “China’s Hypersonic Missile Tests ‘Stun’ U.S. Officials”