“China also tested hypersonic missile, Americans surprised”

China secretly tested a hypersonic missile in August, reports the Financial Time. US intelligence sources told the newspaper they were surprised by the test.

Although the missile did not hit its target, testing shows that China has made “incredible progress” in developing a hypersonic missile, the sources say.

In fact, the Chinese turn out to be much more advanced than the Americans thought. “We have no idea how they handled this,” one of the officials said. According to the Financial Times, the United States seems to underestimate China in this area.

More and more countries are developing new missiles

Besides China, the United States, Russia to maybe also North Korea working on the development of new hypersonic missiles. Such projectiles reach more than five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200 kilometers per hour. Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles fly in low orbits in the atmosphere. This allows them to reach their target faster and makes it more difficult for enemies to intercept the missile.

The Pentagon has yet to officially respond to the Financial Times report.