China's hypersonic aircraft was tested successfully last Friday, reaching six times the speed of sound and performing various turns and other movements during its flight, CNN reported.
The Starry Sky-2 is an experimental design also known as a waverider due to its capability to ride on the shock wave it generates, The South China Morning Post reported.
It is unclear what the new aircraft or technology would be used for, however, on Monday the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA) in Beijing, which forms part of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, confirmed that testing of the Starry-Sky-2 was a success.
The CAA claimed that the aircraft also successfully tested an advanced heat-balance thermal protection system, CNN noted.
Detailed photos of the hypersonic system's launch vehicle were posted to online military magazine Defense Blog, which said the aircraft was designed to have wedge-shaped fuselage that could improve its supersonic lift-to-drag ratio, utilizing the shock waves generated by its own flight as a lifting surface.
Scientists involved in the project said that the new hypersonic aircraft could be used to carry missiles at high speeds, making them near unstoppable, The South China Morning Post said.
Beijing-based military analyst Zhou Chenming told the news outlet that the waverider would likely carry conventional warheads rather than nuclear ones.
"I think there are still three to five years before this technology can be weaponised," he noted. "As well as being fitted to missiles, it may also have other military applications, which are still being explored."
China, Russia and the U.S. have been caught up in an arms race of hypersonic weapons and the successful testing of Starry Sky-2 could put pressure on the military to speed up developments in the field.
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