CHINA — China has tested out a new hypersonic aircraft — The Starry Sky-2 — which could one day be used to carry nuclear missiles, reports The South China Morning Post.
According to reports from Xinhua, the aircraft is a hypersonic experimental waverider vehicle.
The hypersonic aircraft has a flatter, wedge-shaped fuselage and was launched by a multistage rocket into space in northwest China.
The aircraft, which is still at the experimental stage, can ride on shock waves it generates.
The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics released a statement saying the Starry Sky-2 can travel at least five to six times the speed of sound."
The academy also released pictures and videos of the test on WeChat, showing the aircraft twisting and turning.
The aircraft then landed in a designated target zone.
Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military analyst, told the South China Morning Post the aircraft may also have other military applications, adding there are still three to five years before the technology can be weaponized.
