Article Posted on : - Jan 14, 2014

Image from darpa.mil.

WASHINGTON (PTI): The Chinese military, last week, successfully concluded the first test flight of a hypersonic missile vehicle, according to US defence officials at the Pentagon.

The hypersonic missile could be a major milestone for China as it modernises its military technology for strategic nuclear and conventional military purposes.

Expressing concern over Chinese hypersonic cruise missile test, top American lawmakers have said the Asia-Pacific region is fast becoming a powder keg.

The House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, Congressman Randy Forbes and Mike Rogers in a statement said this situation does nothing to support peaceful coexistence in the Pacific.

The United States, Russia, and China are all engaged in a hypersonic arms race. All three nations are developing high-speed aerospace vehicles. India is also developing a hypersonic variant of its BRAHMOS cruise missile.

"While round after round of defence cuts have knocked America's technological advantage on its back, the Chinese and other competitor nations push towards military parity with the United States; in some cases, as in this one, they appear to be leaping ahead of us," three Congressmen said.

"We have dithered for three decades now, delaying badly needed replacement equipment for our troops, relying on hardware that was built during the Reagan years," they said.

"The Asia-Pacific is fast becoming a powder keg. Allowing nations that do not share our respect for free and open avenues of commerce to gain a strategic advantage over the United States and her allies only brings us closer to lighting the fuse," the Congressmen said.

Forbes is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces and Rogers is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.