China secretly tested TWO hypersonic nuke missiles that ‘defied the laws of physics’ sparking panic in the West

CHINA launched TWO hypersonic nuclear missiles which circled the Earth and “defied the laws of physics” sparking panic among Western powers, a report says. The test launches reportedly took place during the summer with the first on July 27 using a “fractional orbital bombardment” system which propelled the nuke-capable “hypersonic glide vehicle” around the planet. The US has been left ‘stunned’ after China’s latest hypersonic missile tests, a report says According to the Financial Times, who spoke with TWO US intelligence sources, Beijing launched a second missile on August 13. Three sources familiar with the first test said the launch “stunned” Pentagon officials because China demonstrated a brand new weapons capability – however they declined to go into further details. One source said scientists were struggling to understand the test, which the US and other Western powers cannot replicate, adding that it appeared to “defy the laws of physics.” Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons expert at Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said Beijing appeared to have developed a terrifying new innovation. He told the FT: “We should be open to the reality that China is also capable of technological innovation. “But I would be careful about exaggerated characterisations that may help excuse a mundane intelligence failure. If we say some innovation is impossible to imagine, then no one is really responsible for missing it.” Most read in News THERE SHE BLOWS Storm Aurore to batter Britain with two inches of rain & 70mph gales SNAKES ON A CRANE 'World’s biggest snake' so huge it has to be lifted by CRANE from lair 'SPIKED' I was on night out when my hand started to throb and I collapsed from 'injection' tragic tot Mum & lover ‘killed girl, 1, by stamping on her then tried to blame 2-year-old' LOTTO HELL I won £6.5m on lottery but blew the lot and ended up homeless 'DISGUSTING' Boy, 9, so neglected bedroom door wouldn't open as it was blocked with rubbish President Joe Biden admitted that “yes” he was concerned about China’s development of such weaponry – however his defence secretary Lloyd Austin and other White House officials refused to comment on the reported tests. The Chinese foreign ministry has denied the FT’s report insisting they launched a space plane in July and not a missile. Earlier this year, satellite images showed China was building hundreds of silos to house intercontinental ballistic missiles – rockets which have a range of more than 3,000 miles and can carry nuclear bombs. Hypersonic missiles can hit speeds of up to 21,000mph – and potentially even faster – and are seen as devastating new frontier for warfare. The rockets are a game changer because unlike ballistic missiles, which fly into space before returning on steep trajectories, they zoom in on targets at lower altitudes. This combined with typical speeds of five times the speed of sound – or around 4,000mph – makes them extremely hard to shoot down and a potent weapon more countries want to get their hands on. But the revelations of Beijing’s summer missile tests has sent shockwaves through Western intelligence who fear they actually underestimated China. Circling the globe, it shows the weapon potentially has a range of some 25,000 miles and can operate in space. It means the missile can theoretically hit anywhere on Earth. A key part of the hypersonic missile concept is the glide vehicle, which is carried to around 30 miles above the earth by a rocket but then becomes detached. The glide vehicle then hurtles to earth using gravity. Intelligence sources told the FT last week that one of the nuke-capable missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles when it was secretly launched. Getty Images - GettyChina appears to have made astonishing progress on the development of its hypersonic weapons[/caption] Armed and dangerous: China's defence spending China has spent an extra £151billion in military spending this year – a 6.8 per cent increase – as it seeks to extend its claim over territory in the South China Sea. Its defence spending comes amid fears of an arms race among Asian powers as the world heads towards a new Cold War. Among its hypersonic missiles is the DF-26, which state media boasted can travel 18 times faster than the speed of sound. It can travel far enough to blitz the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and one variant is said to be able to take out carrier groups in the open ocean. China also announced it’s developing a hypersonic weapon designed to generate an intense electromagnetic pulse that would wipe out communication and power lines. The missile, which has a range of 2,000miles and can travel at six times the speed of sound, is designed to create a chemical explosion over a city and cripple it within seconds. Taylor Fravel, an expert on China’s nuke policy, said a hypersonic glide vehicle armed with a warhead could help Beijing “negate” US defence systems. He said: “Hypersonic glide vehicles… fly at lower trajectories and can manoeuvre in flight, which makes them hard to track and destroy.” It follows North Korea’s announcement that it had joined the hypersonic club last month, with the regime said that it had launched a missile named the Hwasong-8. North Korea’s news agency said its development of the weapons increases its defence capabilities a “thousand fold”. And the firing of Kim Jong-un’s missile came just a day after it was announced US tested its own hypersonic weapon. The free flight test of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept occurred last week, said the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Earlier this year, the Russian military announced it had tested a hypersonic missile it claimed was capable of evading all Western defences. The deadly Zircon was unleashed at a speed of Mach 7 at a land target from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea off the northwest coast of Russia. The Zircon has been identified by Moscow’s state-controlled TV as Putin’s weapon of choice to wipe out coastal American cities in the event of a nuclear conflict.  The Kremlin also has in its armoury the 21,000mph Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which it reportedly brought into service in 2019. More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online. Thesun.co.uk is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.