Watching China's Weapons Development: US On Hypersonic Missile Report
NDTV
The Chinese foreign ministry denied the report in the Financial Times newspaper, which said Beijing had launched a rocket in July carrying a hypersonic glide weapon. Beijing said it was a space vehicle, not a missile.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday Washington was closely watching China's development of advanced weapons systems, while declining to comment directly on a report that Beijing had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile.
The Chinese foreign ministry denied the report in the Financial Times newspaper, which said Beijing had launched a rocket in July carrying a hypersonic glide weapon. Beijing said it was a space vehicle, not a missile.
The United States and Russia have both tested hypersonic weapons, usually defined as missiles which fly more than five times the speed of sound, in a race for a new generation of weapons that are harder to detect and block.
Austin told reporters during a visit to the former Soviet republic of Georgia: "We watch closely China's development of armament and advanced capabilities and systems that will only increase tensions in the region."
