The U.S.¡¯s top uniformed military officer called China¡¯s suspected test of a hypersonic weapons system a ¡°very concerning¡± development in the escalating competition between Washington and Beijing.
¡°What we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system. And it is very concerning,¡± Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview for ¡°The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations¡± on Bloomberg Television. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it¡¯s very close to that. It has all of our attention.¡±
Milley¡¯s comments are the most significant acknowledgment by a U.S. official of reports that China¡¯s military conducted possibly two hypersonic weapons tests over the summer, including the launch into space of an orbiting hypersonic weapon capable of carrying a nuclear payload. The Financial Times first reported the tests, citing officials it didn¡¯t name.
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