CHINA-PLA: CHINA SUCCESSFULLY TESTS NUCLEAR-CAPABLE HYPERSONIC MISSILE
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The Financial Times reported (October 17) that China secretly tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic
missile which orbited the globe before returning to Earth to strike its target in a technological
development that would overcome US anti-ballistic missile systems. The report, which cited five
unnamed intelligence sources, said the Chinese military launched the Long March rocket in August
carrying a “hypersonic glide vehicle” into low orbit. It circled the globe before descending towards
its target, which it missed by about two dozen miles. It quoted sources as saying the system would
be able to overcome US anti-ballistic missile defence systems that are based in Alaska and set up to
shoot down projectiles coming over the North Pole — the Chinese system would be able to strike
the US from the south. It added the incident has left US intelligence officials at the Pentagon stunned,
sources say, as it shows China has made astonishing progress on the development of its hypersonic
weapons.
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