Beijing is continuing to test space-age weapons that could make it increasingly difficult for the US to defend Taiwan in the case of an attack from China.
The DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle, which is believed to be capable of speeds of between 4,000 and 8,000 miles per hour (6,440kph and 12,870kph) on Monday was successfully tested for the sixth time in two years.
US intelligence sources say the highly maneuverable weapons system could carry either nuclear or conventional warheads and could probably defeat current missile defenses.
If Beijing continues to test the DF-ZF at this pace, it could actually be deployed by 2020, said Richard Fisher, senior fellow at the Virginia-based International Assessment and Strategy Center.
“A DF-ZF-based strike vehicle could form the basis of a more maneuverable second-generation anti-ship ballistic missile warhead, posing an even greater threat to US Navy ships and carriers that may need to assist Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack,” Fisher said.
Monday’s test of the DF-ZF at the Wuzhai missile test center in Shanxi Province was first reported by US national security expert Bill Gertz in the Washington Free Beacon.
Gertz said that the DF-ZF weapon was launched atop a ballistic missile from which it separated near the edge of the atmosphere before gliding to an impact range several thousand kilometers away in western China.
He said that on this occasion it flew at speeds beyond Mach 5, or about 6,190kph.
“The high rate of testing for the glide vehicle is an indication China has placed a high priority on the weapon program and that it is making rapid progress,” Gertz said.
Fisher told the Taipei Times: “China’s development of new long-range mobile space-launch vehicles and its hypersonic maneuvering warhead development point to a future Chinese intercontinental non-nuclear capability.”
“It puts greater pressure on the US to develop new energy weapons like railguns that could provide a better defense against this kind of strike vehicle,” he said.
Without suitable countermeasures, the DF-ZF could make it unlikely that the US would risk sending a carrier group to defend Taiwan in the case of an invasion by China.
“Obviously, this is a concern,” a senior Pentagon source said.
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