China’s advanced hypersonic missile threat to India, US, Japan: Report

Compared to conventional ballistic systems, HGV warheads can travel at much higher speeds, lower altitudes and less-trackable trajectories.

By: PTI | Beijing | Published: January 2, 2018 5:29 pm

FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag is seen in front of the Friendship bridge over the Yalu River connecting the North Korean town of Sinuiju and Dandong in China’s Liaoning Province on April 1, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

China’s new ‘hypersonic’ ballistic missiles will not only challenge the defences of the US but also be able to more accurately hit military targets in Japan and India, a media report said on Tuesday. The report in the South China Morning Post comes after Tokyo-based The Diplomat magazine reported that China’s rocket forces conducted two tests late last year of a new “hypersonic glide vehicle” or HGV, known as the DF-17.

Citing US intelligence sources, The Diplomat last month reported that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force carried out the first test on November 1 and the second one two weeks later. Both tests were successful and the DF-17 could be operational by around 2020, the US intelligence sources were quoted as saying.