China has denied a report that claimed it had launched a hypersonic missile recently, saying the launch of a new spacecraft was just a test to see whether the vehicle could be reused.
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 that the long distance missile was launched with a Hypersonic rocket and that the test had been held under wraps.
Beijing said on Monday that 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 reusable spacecraft technology, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in a regular press briefing. This could provide a practical and cheap way for humans to use space for peaceful purposes. Zhao s comments came days after China launched a second crew of three people to staff its space station for a six-month mission. The FT report came at a critical time as China s relationship with the US continues to deteriorate, with some commentators saying recent developments were reminiscent of those during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the west in the 20th century.
The reported firing of a hypersonic missile puzzled many in Washington. One U.S. official told The FT: "We have no idea why they did this," they said. The FT report said Beijing s progress in the field had caught US intelligence by surprise The timing of this reported launch isn't surprising at all, said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow of the nuclear policy programme based at the Carnegie Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing. China is known to be conducting research on new delivery technologies for some time. Even if this reported launch was a weapons test, it could be far from becoming operational capability.
If the FT report is true, it means that China is willing to go the extra mile with a hypersonic approach to penetrate the US missile defense, he said, adding that China had long possessed a very sophisticated technology such as the X-37 B spacecraft, with China, the US, Russia and at least five other countries working on similar technologies.
Hypersonic missiles can fly at more than five times the speed of sound and like ballistic missiles, can deliver a nuclear warhead. But hypersonic missiles fly high in an arc to reach their target while a ballistic missile flies low in the atmosphere in a trajectory, potentially reaching a target faster.
A hypersonic missile is unstoppable, making it harder to track and defend against.
Countries including the US have developed systems to attack cruise missiles, but their ability to track and destroy a hypersonic missile remains in question.
China has been aggressively developing the technology, according to a recent report by the United States CongressionalCongressional Research Service.