A senior Pentagon general has said that China's recent test of a supersonic missile orbiting the Earth was tantamount to the Soviet Union's spectacular launch of the world's first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, which led to a space race between superpowers. Gave birth to
According to the French news agency AFP, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Millie, on Wednesday confirmed for the first time China's test of a nuclear-capable missile, which will be very difficult to defend.
"What we saw was a very important event in the testing of the hypersonic weapons system," he told Bloomberg TV. And that's very worrying. "
"I don't know if it's a Sputnik moment, but I think it's very close," said General Mark Millie.
"It's a very important technical event that happened and we're focused on that."
The Pentagon has previously refused to confirm the test, which was first reported by the Financial Times on October 16.
The newspaper said that the test launch in August surprised Washington.
According to the Financial Times, the missile flew low and circled the earth at five times the speed of sound, but it could not complete its target.
China has denied the report, saying it was a routine test of a reusable spacecraft.
Hypersonic missile technology is a new horizon, as it flies low and is therefore more difficult to detect than ballistic missiles.
They can reach targets faster and this makes them more dangerous, especially if they are equipped with nuclear warheads.
The United States, Russia, China, and North Korea have all experimented with hypersonics, and many more are developing the technology.
China unveiled a hypersonic medium-range DF-17 missile in 2019 that can cover a distance of about 2,000 km and carry a nuclear warhead.
However, the missile mentioned in the Financial Times is different and has a longer range. It can be launched into orbit before returning to space to hit its target.
When asked Wednesday about China's missile test, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to confirm it again.
But he said any major breakthrough in China's military capabilities "does little to reduce tensions in the region and beyond."
