MESOP NEWS: China’s Hypersonic Missile ‘Can Circle Globe Before Striking’

“China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards it

, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise,” the Financial Times reported over the weekend. Newsweek cannot independently verify the report but defense experts have raised concerns about what this means for U.S. foreign policy and the risks facing Western countries. “We have no idea how they did this,” a person briefed on the intelligence told the FT.

Hypersonic missiles are difficult to defend against because these “hypersonic glide vehicles” can be maneuvered in-flight, traveling around five times the speed of sound and, because of the way they move, difficult to trace with existing anti-missile defenses. That said, in this reported test, the missile missed its target by 24 miles so it is some way from being a functional weapon for now. “We don’t have a global strategy and plans of military operations like the U.S. does,” A Chinese official said. “And we are not at all interested in having an arms race with other countries.”

What happens now? Talk of the “new Cold War” is already extensively reported and, while Chinese officials say they are not in an arms race, Professor Jeffrey Lewis, known on social media as @ArmsControlWonk, says: “It will go on like this, at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars, a forever race with no finish line.” Earlier this month, the CIA announced a new China Mission Center to gather intelligence so it feels like any race is just starting.

Deeper reading: China’s Hypersonic Missiles: How Worried Should the U.S. Be About Futuristic Weapons?