China tests a future hypersonic ‘hydra’
Like the mythological hydra, the American ‘Hercules’ appears incapable of dealing with this existential threat.
Beijing’s successful test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), dubbed the Xing Kong-2 (Starry Sky-2), on 3 August placed China a little closer to checkmating any attempt by Washington to pull the nuclear trigger first in a showdown.
The Xing Kong is now one of two confirmed HGV programmes in existence by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The other is the well-documented DF-ZF or WU-14, tested at least seven times since 2014.
‘The implications of China’s advancements in hypersonic glide vehicles and cruise missiles,
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