China ‘successfully tests first hypersonic aircraft’

China says it has successfully tested its first hypersonic aircraft, which can carry nuclear warheads with a capability of evading any missile defense system.

The aircraft, or waverider, known as the Starry Sky-2, was tested for the first time on Friday.

It was released in the air after about 10 minutes in Northwest China, reaching 30 kilometers in altitude at a top speed of Mach 6 — six times the speed of sound, according to the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA).

The aircraft flew independently while performing several turns and other movements, and finally landed in a designated area.

The contractor said the test was a “complete success.”

“The Starry Sky-2 flight test project was strongly innovative and technically difficult, confronting a number of cutting-edge international technical challenges,” CAAA said.

“The flight tester is controllable, and the scientific data is valid. The complete recovery of the rocket marks the successful completion of the Star-2 flight test, marking the feat of ‘the first Chinese waverider,’” the contractor explained.

It also posted photos of the test launch on the social media platform WeChat.

Many countries have been racing for years to develop hypersonic weapons. Both the United States and Russia have been researching and testing waveriders since 2010.

Russia declared earlier this year that it has successfully tested its first hypersonic missiles, and released videos of the weapons.

The US, which has been experimenting with unmanned hypersonic aircraft for years, successfully tested the Boeing X-51 waverider between 2010 and 2013.

The US Air Force announced in 2015 their goal to develop unmanned flying weapons that could travel at least five times the speed of sound by 2023.

Additional pressure on US

Speaking to the Chinese newspaper Global Times, military expert Song Zhongping said that the test was a “breakthrough.”

“The test showed that China is advancing shoulder-to-shoulder with the US and Russia,” he said, adding that the aircraft could carry both conventional and nuclear weapons.

Song said the aircraft challenged current anti-missile defense systems designed to protect against slower cruise and ballistic missiles.

Though hypersonic technologies could transform the nature of warfare, they may also be adapted to a civilian role, including in industrial transport, according to Song.

Commander of US Strategic Command John Hyten acknowledged earlier this year that China’s new claim about achieving the technology had put additional pressure on Washington.

He told in an interview with CNN in March that now that China and Russia had achieved the technology, the US would “need a different set of sensors in order to see the hypersonic threats. Our adversaries know that.”

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