Following a report in the Financial Times yesterday (Sunday) about China's experiment with a supersonic nuclear missile orbiting the Earth, the Beijing Foreign Ministry responded today - claiming that it was "a space vehicle experiment."
Beyond that, they claim, the experiment took place in July rather than August.
During a routine press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian added that "this was a routine experiment in the technologies we used."
"The experiment was reused in order to create a convenient and inexpensive method for humans to safely explore space and back. Many companies have conducted such experiments," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping Photo: AFP
According to the Financial Times' report, which is based on several factors involved in the details of the experiment - the missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, flew low before accelerating on its way to its target, causing it to "demonstrate China's advanced space capability. Which surprised American intelligence, "according to one source.
However, the report states that the missile did not hit its target - which it missed by about 32 kilometers.
Two of the sources said that "the experiment showed that China has made incredible progress on supersonic weapons, and that these are far more advanced than the Americans thought."
Another surprise of the US was caused by the very fact that unlike previous experiments, the current launch was kept in complete secrecy.
