Congress may be ratcheting up a fear campaign over China’s new missile. The exaggerated threat has developed on the wings of profits, and an imaginary powerful enemy is necessary to keep the funds perpetuated. The first test was detected over China recently. It’s been called the WU-14 Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, and it has generated some publicity upon confirmation. The public’s perception must be managed with the event.
However, the US Air Force conducted a similar test years ago.
The Boeing X-51 Waverider has successfully completed a flight of over six minutes and reached speeds of over Mach 5. Hypersonic speed is generally referred to speeds of Mach 5 and above, with potentials reaching from 5.0 to 10.0 Mach. That translates from 3,840 to 7,680 miles-per-hour.
It’s hard to say if this high tech weapon is a rocket or not, but one thing is for sure, it’s not a typical missile. The Boeing X-51 seems to be something out of the space age, and now China has matched the technology.
The WU-14 is the Pentagon’s code name for a Chinese hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV).
Let’s hope there’s a commercial purpose for this type of tech, instead of being used on the battlefield.
