司马南：我轨道高超音速武器亮相

China's new hypersonic missile demonstrated an 
advanced space capability that caught US intelligence
 by surprise, report says
China's new hypersonic missile demonstrated an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise, report says
Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept (HAWC) missile in 
seen in an artist's conception. Raytheon Missiles & 
Defense/Reuters
In August, China tested a hypersonic missile that orbited the 
Earth before speeding towards its target.The test demonstrated 
China's advanced space capability, and took US intelligence 
officials by surprise.The US, Russia and China have been 
competing to develop hypersonic weapons.
China demonstrated advanced space capability by
 
testing a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August,
 the  Financial Times reported, citing five sources  
familiar with the test.
The hypersonic glide vehicle launched by the Chinese 
military circled the globe in low-orbit space before 
speeding towards its target, sources told the paper.
Although the missile missed its target by about two-dozen 
miles, the test demonstrated China's advanced space 
capability and took US intelligence by surprise, sources told the 
Financial Times.
The test showed that China had made "astounding 
progress" on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced 
than US officials realized, two sources said, according to the 
paper. "We have no idea how they did this," another source 
told the paper.
Several countries, including the US, Russia, and China, 
are competing to develop hypersonic weapons. The 
missiles fly at low-altitude trajectories at more than five 
times the speed of sound.
Glide vehicles are a type of hypersonic weapon launched 
into space on a rocket but orbit the earth under their 
momentum. 
Unlike ballistic missiles, they are maneuverable and do not 
follow a fixed trajectory, making them harder to track and 
defend against.In August, General Glen VanHerck, head of 
North American Aerospace Defense Command, said that 
China's advanced hypersonic capability would "provide 
significant challenges to my Norad capability to provide threat 
warning and attack assessment," the Financial Times said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) 
is a binational organization of the US and Canada that 
provides aerospace warning and protection for Northern 
America.
Sources also told the paper that the Chinese weapon could 
theoretically fly over the South Pole, another cause for 
concern for the US military, whose missile systems focus 
on the northern polar route.
China has been aggressively developing this technology, which 
they see as crucial to defending against US advances in 
hypersonic and other technologies, Al Jazeera reported, 
citing a recent report by the US
 
Congressional Research Service (CRS).
News of the test comes amid increasing tensions between 
China and the US, as China increases its military activity 
near Taiwan.
Pentagon Under Secretary of Defense for Research and 
EngineeringMichael Griffin previously said that developing 
hypersonic capabilities was "the highest technical priority," 
according to Defense News.
This week the Pentagon said that developing hypersonic 
weapons was currently too expensive and that defense 
contractors should try and "drive towards more 
affordable hypersonics."
The Pentagon's budget request for hypersonic research in the 
2022 financial year was $3.8 billion, up from $3.2 billion the 
year before, Reuters reported.
https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-hypersonic-missile-surprised-us-spies-with-its-space-capability-2021-10


贴主:ywhan于2021_10_18 22:05:06编辑