While the United States was chasing elusive Taliban and Iraqi fighters in deserts throughout the Middle East for 20 years, China was developing next-gen missile technology that can defeat any known American defensive systems.
According to reports, a set of Pentagon files purportedly leaked by Jack Teixeira contain concerning information regarding China’s hypersonic missile program. The files also reveal that a new missile capable of eluding U.S. defenses has been tested successfully, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.
Teixeira, 21, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was apprehended at his residence in the state on Thursday. He is suspected of distributing numerous classified documents with acquaintances via a Discord chat room between autumn and mid-March. Among them was a February 28 top-secret report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff intelligence directorate, The Washington Post reported.
As per reports, on February 25, China carried out a successful test of a new missile called DF-27, which belongs to the Dongfeng series of hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missiles. All missiles in the Dongfeng family have the potential to deploy nuclear warheads. The DF-27 missile, in particular, “possesses a high probability of penetrating US” ballistic missile defenses, according to the report.
In addition, the memo dated February 28 disclosed that the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military, had deployed variants of the new missile capable of assaulting both land- and sea-based targets in the previous year.
The recently developed missile possesses a hypersonic glide vehicle that can travel at a speed of more than five times the speed of sound. Its in-flight maneuvering capability makes it highly resistant to interception. According to the leaked document, during the test, the DF-27 missile flew for 12 minutes and covered a distance of 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles), the reports said.
“Its range is significantly more than that: a 2021 Defense Department report cited by The Washington Post said the DF-27 has a range of 5,000 to 8,000 kilometers, meaning that it can strike any target in East or Southeast Asia and large parts of the Pacific, including Guam,” the Daily Mail noted.
The most recent “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China,” an annual analysis published by the Pentagon in November and cited by Newsweek, states that Alaska is approximately 7,200 km distant from China, while the mainland United States is under 11,000 km away.
Geopolitical terms known as the First, Second, and Third Island Chains were initially recognized by U.S. military strategists in the 1940s. These semicircular chains are concentric and expand outwards from China. The Second Island Chain, in particular, denotes the region that spans from central Japan to the Marianas and Micronesia. “The third is centered on Hawaii. The first is closer to China, and runs from the far south of Japan through the South China Sea,” the Daily Mail reported, adding:
China has long been known to be making rapid strides in its hypersonic missiles program. The latest development, however, comes at a tense time, with rising fears about the safety of Taiwan.
The leaked documents also showed that China has for the first time recently used its new helicopter-carrying assault ship, Yushen LHA-31, in an extended deployment – another worrying update for Taiwan.
It was revealed last year that China’s military is working on a supersonic anti-ship missile that can travel beyond the range and speed of conventional torpedoes. This missile, measuring 16ft 5in, can reach speeds of up to 2.5 times the speed of sound and operate at an altitude of approximately 32,800 feet for 124 miles before submerging and gliding over the ocean’s surface for up to 12.4 miles.
Upon reaching a distance of approximately 6.2 miles from its intended target, the missile will transition into torpedo mode and travel underwater at speeds of up to 100 meters per second, leveraging super-cavitation. This method creates a large air bubble around the missile, substantially reducing drag.
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