After a media claim that China had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide weapon, an official at US arms control said on Monday that Washington is concerned about hypersonic missile technology and its potential military applications by China and Russia.
Hypersonic weapons are missiles that travel faster than five times the speed of sound, and a race is on, between nations to develop the next generation of long-range weapons that are much harder to detect and intercept.
According to Financial Times, China tested a missile in August, that went through space and circled the globe before gliding down towards a target that it missed.
The report was disputed by China’s foreign ministry. It said that a routine test was conducted in July, and added that it was not a missile, but a space craft.
Both the US and Russia have tested hypersonic missiles, but Robert Wood, the disarmament ambassador of the United States expressed worrries about their potential usage.
Wood mentioned how difficult it was for missile defence systems to maintain track of high-speed weapons that may manoeuvre and bypass shields meant to keep them out of range.
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