China has stunned US intelligence and military officials by testing a nuclear capable hypersonic

[Yorkie Mom]

China has stunned US intelligence and military officials by testing a #nuclear capable #hypersonic missile that traveled through low orbit in space, making a full circle around the globe before speeding towards its target.

Link to tweet

China tests new space capability with hypersonic missile

Launch in August of nuclear-capable rocket that circled the globe took US intelligence by surprise

China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise.

Five people familiar with the test said 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 US officials realised.

The test has raised new questions about why the US often underestimated China’s military modernisation.

“We have no idea how they did this,” said a fourth person.

More: https://www.ft.com/content/ba0a3cde-719b-4040-93cb-a486e1f843fb

[Yorkie Mom]

1. China is not bound by any arms-control deals and has been unwilling to engage the US in talks

US military officials in recent months have warned about China’s growing nuclear capabilities, particularly after the release of satellite imagery that showed it was building more than 200 intercontinental missile silos. China is not bound by any arms-control deals and has been unwilling to engage the US in talks about its nuclear arsenal and policy.

[Farmer-Rick]

2. China did it by harnessing the technology our corporations gave them

"Phytium’s partnership with CARDC offers a prime example of how China is harnessing civilian technologies for strategic military purposes — with the help of American technology. The trade is not illegal but is a vital link in a global high-tech supply chain that is difficult to regulate because the same computer chips that could be used for a commercial data center can power a military supercomputer." https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-hypersonic-missiles-american-technology/2021/04/07/37a6b9be-96fd-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html%3foutputType=amp

Our greedy American corporations didn't want to pay for Americans to build their crap so they turned over the technology to China so thousands of cheap Chinese laborers could build it for them. You can't keep it secret from the guy who is building it. Now China is selling arms and applying the technology to weapons. Corporate stupidity is only surpassed by their greed.

[Voltaire2]

3. Recognize media war drums. Don't be fooled again.

[Saboburns]

8. Bravo!

Good for China. Just cause it's good for China doesn't mean it has to be bad for US. This is not a zero sum game.

STOP DEMONIZING CHINA!

We did it for 50 years in regards to Russia and the Soviet Union. Don't let's do it again.

CHINA IS NOT OUR ENEMY!

[rockfordfile]

12. Not true. China and Russia is our adversary

[Celerity]

13. adversary and enemy are two different things conceptually

[Calculating]

16. China is absolutely our enemy

They'd love to see us fall so they can be the new dominant global power

[Voltaire2]

19. You are partly correct.

China rejects the USA's claim to be the dominant world power. There is no indication that their goal is to replace the USA as the world's dominant power. Instead they appear to insist on international cooperation, mutually beneficial trade relations, and a world built on mutual respect between nations rather than domination.

[Calculating]

25. Mutual respect?

Why do they keep threatening Taiwan in that case? They even threatened to nuke Japan lol.

[Tommymac]

26. Let them address their own Human Rights Issues then respect can enter the equation.

I am all for getting along. I am all for discussing the differences we share, and the similarities that divide us.

But until China treats ALL of it's peoples with respect they cannot be taken seriously in that regard.

[Downtown Hound]

29. Damn dude, pull your nose out of the Chinese government's ass

for just a moment. China repeatedly threatens Taiwan, they lay claim to the entire South China Sea, they claim territory in India, they claim fishing waters of the Phillipines, they have occupied Tibet for 70 years, they are the reason North Korea exists as a brutal dictatorship today, and they have crushed human rights in Hong Kong. If this is your idea of mutual respect, I'd hate to see what you consider a nemesis.

By all means, be skeptical of the U.S. media's war drums and hawking for the military industrial complex, which is what this article is. China has had hypersonic missiles for years. There's nothing shocking about any of this. But don't turn yourself into a propaganda mouthpiece for the Chinese in the process.

[Calculating]

17. China is absolutely our enemy

They'd love to see us fall so they can be the new dominant global power

[Devil Child]

31. China is the enemy n/t

[DenaliDemocrat]

32. China is a scourge on the world under their current regime

Everything from fish, forests, and children are less safe today thanks to China

[11 Bravo]

27. Yeah. Because the Chinese are going to PEACEFULLY reunite with Taiwan.

Then they will follow their promises exactly as they did prior absorbing Hong Kong. Afterwards, they will implement their version of a new and improved Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere.

[Devil Child]

28. China is a strategic enemy of the United States

Acceptance of this reality will help as the cold war with them grows hotter.

[abqtommy]

4. It seems that "U.S. Intelligence" is getting "stunned" a lot lately. nt

[meadowlander]

14. Four years worth of Trump purges in the national security apparatus

didn't get undone on January 20th.

[Irish_Dem]

18. Yep. Stunned by Russia, China, Afghanistan.

They need to keep up.

[Johnny2X2X]

33. Or, US Intelligence is drumming up angst towards China

Someone gains from escalating tensions with China, US military contractors want nothing more than a new arms race. This technology is probably decades old.

[Steven Maurer]

5. No one is "stunned" or caught by surprise

Hypersonic missiles capable of delivering nuclear destruction from space at a touch of a button have been in operation since the 1950s. With pinpoint accuracy, not two miles.

Reagan financed a boondoggle to try to somehow intercept these "bullets". It was called "Star Wars". It was impossible.

This is nothing new or important. And any representation that the US didn't realize that CHina is developing weapons capable of missing by two miles is obviously stupid.

[Baked Potato]

11. Yes, thanks. Nt

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

6. They have a space station, they own the high ground, can just drop a nuke down our chimney anytime

[Downtown Hound]

30. Which they've been able to do since the 60's. Nothing new.

We can do the same to them.

[Saboburns]

7. Good for China

Some seriously smart people in China.

[Angleae]

9. All missiles that can reach low earth orbit are hypersonic. The US has had them since the late 50s.

All the term "hypersonic" means is that it travels at mach 5 or higher. Every single space launch vehicle, ICBM, or SLBM is hypersonic.

[Voltaire2]

20. the distinction is atmospheric hypersonic guided weapons

these are 'cruise missiles' that can achieve hypersonic atmospheric speeds, travel long distances, and remain maneuverable.

Also we have our own programs, six or so, developing the same sort of weapons. Once again we demand other nations not do as we do.

[Angleae]

24. This missile went sub-orbital around the planet. That means ICBM.

[edhopper]

10. Isn't hypersonic

Just faster than 760 mph. Which is true of any missed? Isn't China sending rockets into space?

I truly doubt anyone was stunned.

[dalton99a]

15. The physics and the hype

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-physics-and-hype-of-hypersonic-weapons/
The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons
These novel missiles cannot live up to the grand promises made on their behalf, aerodynamics shows
August 1, 2021

[sarcasmo]

22. China military news seems to be ramping up.