China’s hypersonic nuke ‘fired a SECOND missile mid-flight’ leaving Pentagon reeling as experts say it ‘defies science’
No country had previously been able to demonstrate this advanced engineering feat and the test is said to have caught Pentagon scientists off guard.
Last month China stunned the world when it emerged it launched a hypersonic missile right around the globe.
Now it has been revealed the weapon is far more advanced than originally thought.
The hypersonic glide vehicle, a manoeuvrable spacecraft which can carry a nuclear warhead, fired a separate missile during its flight in the atmosphere over the South China Sea on July 27, according to a Financial Times report.
Experts at the Pentagon’s advanced research agency Darpa are said to be unsure how China achieved the feat, as scientists say it "tests the constraints of physics".
Military experts are said to have been poring over the data to discover how it was achieved.
They are also said to be discussing what the projectile might be for.
It was fired by the hypersonic vehicle but seems to have had no obvious target, before it plunged into the water.
Some Pentagon experts believe the projectile was an air-to-air missile while others think it was a countermeasure to destroy missile defence systems so that they cannot shoot down the hypersonic weapon.
Both Russia and the US have been trying to develop hypersonic weapons for years, but experts have claimed the firing of the second missile is the latest evidence that China’s efforts are far more advanced than either the Kremlin or the Pentagon.
“This development is concerning to us as it should be to all who seek peace and stability in the region and beyond,” said a spokesperson for the National Security Council (NSC).
“This also builds on our concern about many military capabilities that the People’s Republic of China continues to pursue.”
The NSC added the US would “continue to maintain the capabilities to defend and deter against a range of threats” from China.
The hypersonic glide vehicle was propelled into space via an “orbital bombardment system” rocket which can fly over the South Pole, effectively putting it out of reach of US missile defence systems.
Russia used a “fractional orbital bombardment system” during the Cold War, but was less advanced and didn’t carry a manoeuvrable hypersonic glide vehicle.
Armed and dangerous: China's defence spending
China has spent an extra £151billion in military spending this year - a 6.8 per cent increase - as it seeks to extend its claim over territory in the South China Sea.
Its defence spending comes amid fears of an arms race among Asian powers as the world heads towards a new Cold War.
Among its hypersonic missiles is the DF-26, which state media boasted can travel 18 times faster than the speed of sound.
It can travel far enough to blitz the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
The rocket can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and one variant is said to be able to take out carrier groups in the open ocean.
China also announced it's developing a hypersonic weapon designed to generate an intense electromagnetic pulse that would wipe out communication and power lines.
The missile, which has a range of 2,000miles and can travel at six times the speed of sound, is designed to create a chemical explosion over a city and cripple it within seconds.
The July 27 test indicated the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force was making far faster progress than many had thought.
Those fears were reinforced by Beijing combining an orbital system with a hypersonic weapon that can fire a missile.
The test comes at a time when China is rapidly expanding its nuclear forces, indicating it is abandoning its “minimum deterrence” stance it has maintained for decades.
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