A surprising report appeared in the Financial Times of London Oct. 17, giving anonymous sources but later explained by China’s Foreign Ministry, that China had test-launched a hypersonic glide vehicle which circled the entire globe in low-Earth orbit before attacking a target which it reportedly missed by 20 miles or so. The surprise was not the miss, but the ability to send a “hypersonic weapon” around the world and even potentially over the South Pole, putting China apparently far ahead of the United States in this area of military development.
The paper said: “Five people familiar with the test told the Financial Times that the Chinese military launched a rocket that carried a hypersonic glide vehicle which flew through low-orbit space before cruising down towards its target. The missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles, according to three people briefed on the intelligence. But two said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than U.S. officials realized.”
