China Successfully Completes Seventh Test of Hypersonic Glider with Top Speed Reaching over 12,000 km/h

File photo: DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle

China has successfully completed a seventh flight test of its new hypersonic glide vehicle last week in its northern central Shanxi province.

The revolutionary glider “DF-ZF” can travel at speeds between Mach 5 (6,174 km/h) to Mach 10 (12,348 km/h), that is, from five times the speed of sound to ten times.

U.S. media expressed their concern over the new test. Reuters, citing “Pentagon officials”, refers to the test object as “nuclear-capable hypersonic missile”. US intelligence fears that Beijing may use DF-ZF to "deliver nuclear weapons bypassing even the most complex of missile defense systems", Washington Free Beacon reported.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman first confirmed China’s hypersonic missile test in March 2015, saying that the missile test was not aimed at any country and was done for scientific research.