A test launch of a hypersonic vehicle was conducted by China in August 2021. Expert says China’s mysterious space-tech test is not a sign that the sky is falling.
FREMONT CA: The Financial Times reported that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon on a rocket in August. The hypersonic vehicle missed its objective by about 24 miles (39 kilometers), surprising and alarming US officials, the newspaper reported. Officials in China deny this, claiming the launch was only to test reusable spacecraft technologies. A new policy analysis says there's no need to fear if that's merely a cover story. Bleddyn Bowen, a lecturer at the University of Leicester in England, stated that it does not change the nuclear balance of terror between Beijing and Washington.
Other possibilities included testing a "fractional orbital bombardment system" (FOBS) that would accelerate a warhead to orbital velocity but slow it down for delivery to a target before completing a full circle of the Earth. FOBS may launch warheads in a variety of directions, making them more difficult to deal with than ICBMs, which must follow known courses.
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However, FOBS isn't a game-changing technology, says Bowen and Hunter. While the Soviet Union developed FOBS in the 1960s, it was considered inferior to submarine-launched warheads and an enormous ICBM barrage.
Bowen said that it is not clear if China tested a FOBS-like capability, it is unlikely to be fielded on a large scale due to the high cost of fielding the weapons required for a meaningful nuclear capability, the ineffectiveness of US missile defenses in defending against China's existing nuclear weapons, and the very limited gains FOBS provides above and beyond China's existing nuclear forces on Earth. Bowen and Hunter in the policy brief wrote that with FOBS operational hypersonic vehicles may not actually deliver battlefield advantage, for defenses against a nuclear ballistic missile attack do not work in the first place.
In the wake of the August test, Bowen and Hunter call for even-tempered to prevail and provide few suggestions for policymakers to reduce tensions in the near future. The Chinese government repeatedly declined US invitations to talk about weapons. Other Asian governments can now take the initiative and try to establish trust in these crucial strategic problems without the presence of the US and China.
