Beijing denies NATO is expanding its operations against it
China has tested a nuclear hypersonic missile that could hit any point on Earth in minutes, the Financial Times reported. U.S. government sources say the superweapon is moving at 21,000 miles per hour in low orbit and would make U.S. missile defense useless.
A special hypersonic aircraft capable of carrying a nuclear weapon was reportedly launched in August with the help of a launch vehicle. During the tests, he flew through the low orbital space, but failed to reach the planned target, and deviated a few tens of kilometers.
The test still stunned US intelligence officials, sources said, as it showed that “China has made amazing progress in developing its hypersonic weapons.”
“We do not have it
idea how they are
did this“, Says an American employee familiar with the test.
In theory, this missile could fly over the South Pole, and this would pose a major threat to the US air defense system, focused on repelling possible attacks from the North Polar direction.
The Pentagon did not comment on reports of tests of hypersonic weapons conducted by China, but expressed concern about the military activity of the Asian country.
According to US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby, China’s military capabilities are only fueling tensions. For this reason, the United States believes that Beijing is a key challenge for them.
Together with China, the United States, Russia and at least five other countries, they are working on hypersonic technology, and last month North Korea announced that it had tested a newly developed hypersonic missile.
At a parade in 2019, China demonstrated new types of weapons, including its hypersonic missile known as the DF-17.
Ballistic missiles fly in space before returning on steep trajectories at higher speeds. Hypersonic weapons are difficult to intercept because they fly
to your goals of
much lower
above sea level
height,
but can reach more than five times the speed of sound – or about 6200 km / h.
At the same time, Beijing denied the information. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it had tested a spacecraft in July, not a nuclear hypersonic missile.
“It’s a routine test to test vehicle reuse technology. The significance of the test is that it can provide a cheap and convenient method for people to travel safely to and from space, “said Chinese authorities.
“Confronting the security threat posed by China’s progress in space weapons will be an important part of NATO’s future work,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s chief executive. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said China was already influencing European security through its cyber capabilities, new technologies and long-range missiles.
“The question of how exactly to respond to threats will be part of NATO’s new doctrine for the next decade,” Stoltenberg added. The document is expected to be adopted next summer, and the current version, from 2010, does not mention Beijing.
“China is getting closer to us. We see them in the Arctic. We see them in cyberspace. We see how they invest heavily in critical infrastructure in our countries. And, of course, they have more and more long-range weapons that can reach all of us, “Stoltenberg said.
The NATO chief said Russia and China should not be seen as separate threats.
“In the first place, China and Russia are working closely together. This whole idea of differentiating between China, Russia, the Asia-Pacific region or Europe: this is a great security environment, and we have to deal with it all at once. “Our work on readiness, technology, sustainability applies to all these regions,” he added.
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