Breaking news
China has conducted second flight test of of its new WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle HGV 2108143.
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Defence & Security News - China |
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| Thursday, August 21, 2014 05:10 PM | |||
| China has conducted second flight test of its new WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle HGV. | |||
| China
recently conducted the second flight test of its new hypersonic glide
vehicle WU-14 that is part of what analysts say is Beijing’s global
system of attack weapons capable of striking the United States with nuclear
warheads. |
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 The hypersonic vehicle is able to carry nuclear warheads. |
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The latest test
of the new hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) known as Wu-14 took place
Aug. 7 at a missile facility in western China, said U.S. government
officials familiar with details of the test reported in internal channels. He added that the Pentagon has encouraged China to adopt greater “transparency” for its defense programs “to avoid miscalculation.” Pool confirmed the first test in January, but declined to provide a similar confirmation on the recent test. However, two other U.S. officials said the Aug. 7 test involved the Wu-14 HGV. The first flight test of the Wu-14 took place Jan. 9 and flew at speeds of around Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound—around 7,680 miles per hour. Hypersonic speeds pose severe guidance and control challenges for weapons engineers and produce extreme stress to metal and components. The Chinese hypersonic test is further evidence of what is viewed in intelligence circles as an emerging hypersonic arms race. In addition to China, the United States, Russia and India are building high-technology hypersonic strategic arms. The weapons are sought for their hard-to-counter features and ability to defeat strategic missile defenses. |
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