United States is "very worried" for China’s activity in the hypersonic missile sector, Robert Wood, Washington’s permanent representative on disarmament issues, highlighted this Monday in Geneva.
"We are very concerned about what China is currently doing in the hypersonic realm."said the ambassador, who after seven years in Geneva will leave his post next week to return to Washington.
The Financial Times said in an article on Saturday that China launched a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, which circled the Earth in low orbit before descending towards its target, which it missed.
This Monday, China denied this, mentioning "a routine test of a space vehicle, with the aim of testing the technology of this type of reusable devices". Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was in charge of refuting the US claim.
The US ambassador stressed that Russia also has this hypersonic ability, and stated that the United States "has refrained from proceeding" the military development of this technology, which refers to objects capable of flying at Mach 5 speeds, even higher, which are maneuverable, making them difficult to detect and intercept.
But in the face of the development of this type of weaponry, "we have no choice but to react along the same lines"Wood said.
The United States does not yet have hypersonic missiles in its arsenal, but it is working on this. The Darpa, scientific arm of the US Army, recently announced that it successfully tested its hypersonic missile HAWC (Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept) of aerobic propulsion, that is, using oxygen from the atmosphere for its combustion.
The Pentagon is also developing a hypersonic glider called the ARRW (pronounced Arrow), but last April its first full-scale test was unsuccessful.
In 2019, China had already presented a hypersonic missile, the DF-17. It is a medium-range weapon (about 2,000 km), shaped like a "glider" and it can carry nuclear warheads.
The missile pointed out by the Financial Times is different in that it could reach space, put into orbit and then re-pass the atmosphere and head towards its target. Its range would be vastly greater than that of the DF-17.
Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and as of the end of 2019 it already had the Avangards, with nuclear capabilities. According to the Russians, the Avangard can reach Mach 27 speed and change course and altitude.
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