Chinese experts claim 'successful' test of nuclear-capable 'waverider'

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- China has successfully tested a hypersonic aircraft that can "break any missile defense system," the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics said.

The Xingkong-2, or Starry Sky-2, can be equipped with a nuclear warhead and can move at such high speeds its trajectory is difficult to predict, the academy's experts said Sunday on social media platform WeChat, according to state tabloid Global Times.

The test of China's first "waverider" took place in the country's northwest.

It was launched in a rocket, then released in the air after about 10 minutes, the report stated.

The vehicle flew independently, making "large-angle turning maneuvers," before "landing in the targeted area as planned."

The China Daily reported Monday a "solid-propellant" rocket carried the hypersonic aircraft on Friday, and the waverider flew independently at a speed that exceeded Mach 5.5, for more than 400 seconds.

It then reached Mach 6, or 4,563 mph, according to the Chinese aerospace academy, reaching nearly 19 miles in altitude.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV contributor, said the new waverider uses shockwaves to generate hypersonic flight.

"Announcing the successful test to the public indicates that China must have already made a technological breakthrough with the weapon," Song said.

Wang Yanan, editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the test is a sign of Chinese advancements.

"The test confirms that China possesses reliable and advanced technologies for a hypersonic vehicle, as it relied on its own propulsion for a 400-second hypersonic flight -- as opposed to such vehicles in other nations that didn't use their own propulsion in the first flight test," he said.

"The test also showed that we have reached a world-class level for a hypersonic vehicle's key equipment, such as separation devices, thermal protection, flight controls and communications apparatus."