Beijing says FT report was inaccurate and that exercise was merely a test of reusable technology
\n Beijing
\nChina has denied a report that claimed it had recently launched a hypersonic missile, saying its launch of a new spacecraft was merely a test to see whether the vehicle could be reused.
\nThe 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 the hypersonic missile was carried by a Long March rocket and that the test had been kept under wraps.
\nBut Beijing said on Monday the report was inaccurate, and the exercise was a test of reusable technology that could reduce the cost of launching spacecraft.
\n\u201cAccording to my understanding, this test is a routine spacecraft test, used to test a reusable spacecraft technology,\u201d Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in a regular press briefing. \u201cThis could provide a convenient and cheap way for humans to use space for peaceful purposes.\u201d
\nZhao\u2019s comments came days after China launched a second three-person crew to staff its space station on a six-month mission. The FT report came at a sensitive time, as China\u2019s 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.
\nThe reported launch of a hypersonic missile puzzled some observers in Washington. One US official told the FT: \u201cWe have no idea how they did this.\u201d The FT report said Beijing\u2019s progress in the field had \u201ccaught US intelligence by surprise\u201d.
\n\u201cThe timing [of this reported launch] isn\u2019t surprising at all,\u201d said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow of the nuclear policy programme based at the Carnegie\u2013Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing. \u201cChina is known to have been conducting research on new delivery technologies for some time. But even if this reported launch was a weapons test, it may be far from becoming an operational capability.
\n\u201cIf the FT report was true, it means that China is willing to go the extra mile with a exotic approach to penetrate the US\u2019s missile defence,\u201d he said, adding that the US had \u201clong possessed a very similar and more sophisticated technology, such as the X-37B spacecraft\u201d.
\nDrew Thompson, a former director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the US, said that the Department of Defense and the intelligence community have been monitoring and tracking China\u2019s various missile programmes \u201cfor years\u201d.
\n\u201cWithout transparency in China\u2019s space programme, it is difficult to make credible denials,\u201d he said. \u201cI think Biden\u2019s calculation [regarding China] changed a while ago. This just reinforces the conclusions.\u201d
\nAlong with China, the US, Russia and at least five other countries are working on hypersonic technology.
\nHypersonic missiles can fly at more than five times the speed of sound and like ballistic missiles can deliver a nuclear warhead. But ballistic missiles fly high into space in an arc to reach their target while a hypersonic flies on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching a target more quickly.
\nCrucially, a hypersonic missile is manoeuvrable \u2013 making it harder to track and defend against.
\nCountries including the US have developed systems to defend against cruise and ballistic missiles, but their ability to track and take down a hypersonic missile remains in question.
\nChina has been aggressively developing the technology, according to a recent report by the US Congressional Research Service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beijing says FT report was inaccurate and that exercise was merely a test of reusable technology Beijing China has denied a report that claimed it had recently launched a hypersonic missile, saying its launch of a new spacecraft was merely a test to see whether the vehicle could be reused. The Financial Times reported on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-222425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n