US ‘Concerned' Over China's Alleged Hypersonic Missile

The US is “very concerned” about China’s development of hypersonic technology, the US disarmament ambassador has said, after reports that Beijing has launched a hypersonic missile with a nuclear capacity.

- Vincent Ni Julian Borger

“We are very concerned by what China has been doing on the hypersonic front,” Robert Wood said.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Beijing had launched a nuclear-capable missile in August that circled the Earth at low orbit before narrowly missing its target. Citing multiple sources, the FT claimed the missile was carried by a Long March rocket and that the test had been kept under wraps.

“We just don’t know how we can defend against that type of technology. Neither does China or Russia,” Wood said.

But Beijing said the report was inaccurate, and the exercise was a test of reusable technology that could reduce the cost of launching spacecraft. “According to my understanding, this test is a routine spacecraft test, used to test a reusable spacecraft technology,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said in a press briefing. “This could provide a convenient and cheap way for humans to use space for peaceful purposes.”