On October 16, Financial Times published an exclusive article saying that China has tested an advanced missile system with the potential of bypassing any US anti-ballistic defence systems or avoiding warning radars meant for intercontinental missiles.
Journalists Demetri Sevastopulo and Kathrin Hille of the Financial Times had first reported about the missile test in August. The test saw a space rocket with a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV), efficient enough to carry nuclear warheads, travel across the globe and hit the earth falling just short of its target.
SCOOP – #China has stunned US intelligence and military officials by testing a #nuclear capable #hypersonic missile that traveled through low orbit in space, making a full circle around the globe before speeding towards its target. https://t.co/xBB8cSWQD0
— Demetri Sevastopulo (@Dimi) October 16, 2021
Possible development of a FOBS system or fractional orbital bombardment system by China is assumed to be in the process, the FT report stated. A FOBS system take off is similar to the launch of a traditional intercontinental ballistic missile with a different trajectory.
A normal intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) escapes the atmosphere for a short period as it follows the path toward its target at the North Pole, on the other hand, a missile based on the FOBS system would remain in its orbit according to its trajectory for a sufficient amount of time and thus have the potential to move towards a target from different directions. In short, the FOBS system is capable of creating complex paths and trajectories that would make it impossible for any existing anti-ballistic defense system to track.
Launching weapons from space
Surprisingly, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall had already warned in September that China might be developing a FOBS. Kendall said,“There is a potential for weapons to be launched into space, then go through this old concept from the Cold War called the fractional orbital bombardment system, which is a system that basically goes into orbit and then de-orbits to a target,”
The testing of advanced missile system using hypersonic gliding vehicle that the Chinese space program is being controlled by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as per reports. According to reports, the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics is leading the project, which is a subdivision of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
Many experts now say that the development of the FOBS will trigger a whole new arms race in the world.
May render US missile defence systems obsolete
The Soviet Union had deployed a small number of these fractional, orbital missiles back in 1969. Now sources claim that the advancement of the American missile-defence system is the motivation behind the FOBS deployment. The US administration is known for its work on surface-launched missile systems that could deter ICBMs. President Richard Nixon gave his approval for the deployment of the Safeguard ABM system in 1969.
China had experimented with the FOBS idea in the 1960s. A three-stage DF-6 missile that was supposed to be functional by 1974 was cancelled in 1973 due to technical problems.
It is important to note that one of the principles in the Outer Space Treaty states that “states shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner”. Thus it would appear that the Chinese attempt to put missiles in the outer space orbit would be in violation of the treaty.
A senior defence analyst at the RAND Corporation, Derek J. Grossman tweeted, “China may have just achieved its own Sputnik moment against the US military. Hard to exaggerate how much of a game-changer this space-based capability might be if perfected. US missile defences could become negated or even obsolete.”
China denies FT claims, says it was ‘routine spacecraft test’
Two days after the FT exclusive report by Journalists Demetri Sevastopulo and Kathrin Hille made global headlines, China’s foreign ministry has denied the claims made by it.
In a press statement, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that a routine test was carried out in July to test different types of reusable spacecraft technology.
“This was not a missile, this was a spacecraft. This is of great significance for reducing the cost of spacecraft use,” Lijian told media. He also added that many other nations have carried out similar tests in the past.
When specifically asked if the FT article was inaccurate, Lijian said, “Yes”.
