• Military technology How the Chinese missile that can attack the US through Antarctica works

The United States successfully tested hypersonic missile technology, a new weapons system that has already been deployed by

China and Russia

, the US Navy reported Thursday.

The test, carried out Wednesday

at NASA facilities in Wallops, Virginia,

is a "vital step in the development of a common hypersonic missile designed by the Navy," the Navy said in a statement.

"This test demonstrated

advanced hypersonic technologies,

capabilities and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment," he explained.

Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles, can fly at more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5).

However, they are

more maneuverable

than ballistics and can trace a trajectory low in the atmosphere, making it more difficult to defend against them.

Ambassador

Robert Wood, the

permanent representative of the United States to the Conference on Disarmament, expressed concern earlier this week following reports that China had conducted a test in August of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile.

According to the

Financial Times newspaper,

China launched a hypersonic missile that completed a world tour before landing, missing its target.

"We are

very concerned about what China has been doing

on the hypersonic front," acknowledged Wood, who will leave his post in Geneva next week after seven years.

China insisted that

the test was routine

for a spacecraft and not for a missile.

Wood warned that

Russia also had hypersonic technology

and that while the United States had refrained from developing a military capability in this field, it now has no choice but to respond in kind.

"Things continue to accelerate in the arms race," he acknowledged.

China introduced in 2019 a medium-range hypersonic missile, the DF-17, which can travel about 2,000 kilometers and can carry nuclear warheads.

The missile mentioned in the

Financial Times article

is another one, with a longer range.

It can be

launched into orbit before returning to the atmosphere

to reach its target.

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the

Zircon

, from a submarine, and since the end of 2019 it has in service the Avangard nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, which can travel up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude.

The Pentagon hopes to deploy its first hypersonic weapons by 2025 and has said their development is one of its "highest priorities."

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