The top secret testing of a new ultra-high-speed missile by China last week could lead to a weapon that would have a “profound effect” on the nation’s security, a US military expert said.
As reported on Monday in Washington, China’s military conducted a first flight test on Thursday last week on a hypersonic “glide vehicle,” which may be able to deliver warheads at speeds too fast for any existing defense system to counteract them.
According to security correspondent Bill Gertz, writing in the Washington Free Beacon, the vehicle flew over China at speeds ranging from Mach 8 to Mach 12, or from 9,656kph to 14,484kph.
“As the likely testing base for such a new missile-launched weapon would have been Taiyuan in Shaanxi Province, it is indeed possible that Taiwan was able to monitor parts of the test via its new long-range phased array radar,” said Rick Fisher, a military analyst at the International Assessment and Strategy Center (IASC).
“A Chinese weapon based on a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle [HGV] would have a profound effect on the security of Taiwan,” Fisher said.
It would likely evade most of Taiwan’s missile defenses until the nation could obtain rail guns or laser weapons, which the US does not even have for its own forces, he said.
“However, on a higher plane, future PLA [People’s Liberation Army] HGV weapons would pose a new and more dangerous indirect threat to Taiwan because they would also threaten US bases in Japan and Guam, and threaten the US naval forces that would seek to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack,” Fisher said.
“If states like Japan, South Korea and even Taiwan see that they cannot defend themselves with non-nuclear means, then nuclear options become far more attractive,” he said.
“The hypersonic vehicle represents a major step forward in China’s secretive strategic nuclear and conventional military and missile programs,” which was detected traveling at “extremely high speeds,” Gertz said.
Gertz said the hypersonic craft appeared to have been designed to be launched atop one of China’s intercontinental ballistic missiles and to glide and maneuver at speeds of up to 10 times the speed of sound from near space on the way to its target.
“We routinely monitor foreign defense activities and we are aware of this test,” Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Pool said.
The US and Russia are also working on hypersonic aerospace vehicles.
Gertz quoted China military affairs specialists as saying that the test was a “significant milestone” for Beijing’s high-technology arms development.
China was also said to be developing a hypersonic scramjet-powered vehicle that could take off independently or be launched from a bomber.
The US expects to field hypersonic arms within 10 to 15 years that will be capable of reaching any location on Earth within an hour.
Gertz said that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin recently compared the development of hypersonic weapons to the emergence of atomic weapons in the 1950s.
According to Rogozin, the first nation to master hypersonic weapons would launch a new revolution in military affairs.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS