Amid its greater ambition to dominate the modern space race, China reportedly took the arena a step further in militarizing the arena when it tested a nuclear-powered hypersonic missile. According to the Financial Times, Beijing tested the vehicle that orbited the globe in August before racing towards its target, demonstrating a unique space ability developed by the dragon.
The report late Saturday said the Chinese military launched a missile using a hypersonic glide vehicle that flew through low-orbit space and orbited the globe before heading towards its target, which it missed by about two dozen miles .
“The test showed that China has made amazing progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials thought,” the report said, citing intelligence information. Citing sources, FT reported that the weapon could theoretically fly over the South Pole, which poses a major challenge for the US military.
Speculation about the secret launch came from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, which said it launched a Long March 2C missile, the 77th launch in July, followed by an announcement on the 24th of details of the 78th launch Ignite speculation.
WHAT IS A HYPERSONIC MISSILE?
With countries continuing to focus on North Korea for its nuclear missile tests, China has reportedly secretly launched a hypersonic missile. A hypersonic missile is a vehicle that reaches a speed five times faster than the speed of sound and exceeds Mach 5. These missiles travel at about 6,115 km per hour and incorporate a combination of the technology and maneuverability of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Hypersonic weapons can withstand missile wars, especially nuclear wars, to a new – and for many frightening – level. Reportedly, they can fly much faster at low altitude than current nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, can change direction of flight, and do not follow a predictable arc like traditional missiles, making them much more difficult to track and intercept.
A GLOBAL RUSH FOR HYPERSONIC
China isn’t the first to develop hypersonic capabilities, while the country first unveiled its DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle during its National Day military parade. the US announced a successful test of an unarmed hypersonic prototype in 2020 Rocket. The Pentagon had said in March 2020 that a test glider was flying at hypersonic speed – more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5 – to a specific point of impact.
Russia also demonstrated hypersonic capabilities when it put its first Avangard hypersonic missile into service in December 2019, making it the first country to claim a working hypersonic weapon. According to AFP, Russian officials claimed the missile reached speeds of up to Mach 27, around 33,000 kilometers per hour, when tested.
The US has recognized that hypersonic capability can catalyze the threat of nuclear conflict between rivals. Washington is now also investing money in advanced missile defense research to find ways to protect against hypersonic.
INDIA’S TRY WITH HYPERSONIC MISSILE
As reports of the new Chinese capability arrive, all of India moves onto its radar, giving Beijing an opportunity to hit every target in the country. Since India and China are neighbors, both have the ability to meet with nuclear weapons even without hypersonic missiles.
The two nuclear-powered nations are currently busy resolving a border dispute in east Ladakh that has severed ties between the two Asian giants.
India has also developed hypersonic technology how the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully launched the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) in its maiden test. The HSTDV was an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic speed flights. It could fly at Mach 6 and move to an altitude of 20 miles (20 seconds).
According to DRDO, in addition to its usefulness for long-range cruise missiles of the future, dual-use technology will also have numerous civil applications. It can also be used to launch satellites inexpensively.
Meanwhile, India’s Anti-Satellite Technology (ASAT) is deterring any unsavory activity by rivals in space. Anti-satellites, or ASATs, are space weapons designed to disable or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes. India tested this rocket in 2019 to successfully target an active low earth orbit (LEO) satellite.
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