Did China’s hypersonic missile surprise America? Facts and comments
According to the Financial Times, China tested a hypersonic missile in August. Beijing thus joins the United States, Russia and North Korea in the development of hypersonic weapons. The reactions of analysts
China has tested a hypersonic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead over a very long distance without being intercepted.
It was reported on Financial Times , citing sources familiar with the matter. According to what was revealed, the launch took place in August and the gliding aircraft was coupled to a "Long March" missile. The missile traveled the entire surface of the planet in low orbit before reaching the place designated for the impact, then missed by just 24 miles.
China joins the United States, Russia and North Korea in the development of hypersonic weapons: the missiles are launched into space on a rocket but orbit the earth under their own momentum.
These missiles fly at five times the speed of sound. Hypersonic missiles are much faster than conventional ballistic or cruise missiles and also much more difficult to intercept by defense systems.
According to the Financial Times, the test, which demonstrates Chinese advances in hypersonic technologies, took US intelligence by surprise.
All the details.
THE BEIJING TEST
On the basis of intelligence sources, the British newspaper reports that the missile has crossed low Earth orbit and headed towards its target, which was missed by about twenty miles.
Hypersonic gliding vehicles fly at five times the speed of sound, follow lower trajectories, and can be maneuvered in flight, making them more difficult to track and hit. Armed with a nuclear warhead, they could destroy ballistic missiles.
THE LONG MARCH ROCKETS
In addition, the FT reports that China uses Long March rockets as launchers.
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (Calt) usually announces the launches. However, on July 19 it announced the 77th launch and on August 24th the 79th.
Therefore, the launch of which the agency has not communicated the news, the 78th, could be linked to the test of the hypersonic missile.
THE REPLICA OF THE GLOBAL TIMES
"The United States is very concerned about China's nuclear development," the Global Times – a well-known Chinese tabloid newspaper produced by the official Chinese Communist Party newspaper – replied to the FT report. "
“There is no doubt that China has no intention of building a nuclear force the same size as that of the United States. In other words, we have no intention of launching a "nuclear arms race" with the United States, "points out the Beijing daily.
"However, China will certainly improve the quality of its nuclear deterrence to ensure that the United States completely eliminates the idea of nuclear blackmail against China at any critical moment and its idea of using nuclear forces to compensate for the weakness that forces US conventions cannot crush China ”.
THE COMMENT OF THE EXPERTS
According to Taylor Fravel, a Chinese nuclear weapons policy expert who was unaware of the test, a hypersonic gliding aircraft armed with a nuclear warhead could help China evade US missile defense systems designed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. It would be "destabilizing" if China developed and deployed such a weapon, the expert added to the Financial Times .
"We are in the season of exaggerated stories about the mysterious explosion of technological capability of China" has thus branded the revelations of Ft the expert on international politics and American Edward Luttwak heard by the newspaper Il Tempo.
WHAT HYPERSONIC CAPACITY MEANS
“The fact is that the ability to be hypersonic goes back over 30 years,” Luttwak points out at Tempo . “Besides, a missile must also be aimed at something. If it's aiming at a fixed target you don't need hypersonic, you can use a standard ballistic missile. While these missiles are useful for hitting something that is moving. So, they have the technology to go fast but not to aim. That of the hypersonic missile in the hands of China “is not a lie. It's true but it's not what people imagine it represents. speed to be useful for a weapon, a missile, must be pointable, usable against a moving target, otherwise it is useless. If he doesn't move, he can be caught in many ways ".
TECHNOLOGY STOLEN FROM THE USA?
Finally, there are those who believe that Beijing has achieved this technological advance by stealing information from the United States.
“China stole the hypersonic material with which it made this new missile from Duke University's hypersonic laboratory. They weren't that far ahead with research of course… just a simple theft, ”tweeted Kyle Bass, founder of the hedge fund Hayman Capital Management. Recall that Bass was one of the few to predict, in 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis.
China stole the hypersonic material it fabricated this new missile with from Duke University's hypersonic lab. They weren't naturally this far ahead with research… just simple theft. #China #LieCheatSteal #Duke @Dimi https://t.co/0RA1WWoZLb https://t.co/oCjJzlTdnT
–
Kyle Bass
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/il-missile-ipersonico-della-cina-ha-sorpreso-lamerica-fatti-e-commenti/ on Mon, 18 Oct 2021 10:26:01 +0000.