Pentagon’s Top General Remarked Chinese Hypersonic Test As A “Sputnik Moment”

For the first time, Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed China's launch of a nuclear-capable missile that would be extremely difficult to defend against. China's recent test of an earth-circling hypersonic missile, according to the Pentagon's top general, is comparable to the Soviet Union's dramatic launch of the world's first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, which launched the superpowers' space race.

According to the Financial Times, the missile circled the Earth at a low altitude and at a speed of more than five times the speed of sound, but it missed its target by more than 30 kilometers (19 miles). China refuted the news, claiming that it was merely a normal test of a reusable spacecraft.

Hypersonic missiles are the next generation of missile technology, as they fly lower and are thus harder to detect than ballistic missiles, can reach targets faster, and are more agile.