The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics announced a successful flight test of a hypersonic aircraft called the Starry Sky 2 on Aug. 4.
CAAA said the Starry Sky 2 achieved a hypersonic speed of Mach 6 or 4,563 miles per hour. This means that the aircraft has traveled six times the speed of sound. All hypersonic vehicles are designed to move at five times the speed of sound or to travel across the United States in 30 minutes.
"The flight tester is controllable, and the scientific data is valid. The complete recovery of the rocket marks the successful completion of the Star-2 flight test, marking the feat of 'the first Chinese waverider,'" CAAA said in a statement first reported by CNN. "Waverider" is an experimental design that gives aircraft the ability to glide on its own produced shock waves.
The CAAA did not explain the purpose of the Starry Sky 2. The academy simply states that it contributes to the advancement of China's aerospace industry.
The South China Morning Post reported that waveriders could be used to carry warheads that can penetrate anti-missile defense systems. Zhou Chenming, a military analyst in Beijing, said the world is still far from a future of having hypersonic aircraft carry nuclear weapons.
"I think there are still three to five years before this technology can be weaponized. As well as being fitted to missiles, it may also have other military applications, which are still being explored," Zhou said.
China has been testing other hypersonic glide vehicles, but the Starry Sky 2 is the first of its kind to utilize the waverider technology.
The United States, China, and Russia have been racing for years to develop hypersonic weapons.
The United States had tested the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 and Advanced Hypersonic Weapon in the past years. Earlier this year, the country allotted $1 billion for the development of a hypersonic missile that can be launched from a plane.
The recent successful test of the Starry Sky 2 may put more pressure for the United States to hasten its hypersonic weapon developments. Robert Work, former deputy secretary of Defense, warned in June that China is already surpassing America regarding military technology.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country's Kinzhal hypersonic missile system achieved speeds of Mach 20. Russia's Avangard, the president also said, was invincible against any missile defense system. His country would also be starting operations of its nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2020.
