China’s Hypersonic Weapon Could Be for Nuclear ‘First-Use’: Pentagon No. 2

Lieutenant General John E. Hyten, Air Force Space Command vice commander, speaks about how cyber operations are a clear catalyst for change in the art and science of modern warfare during the Space Foundation's Cyber 1.3 luncheon at The Broadmoor hotel, Colorado Springs, Colo., April 8. U.S. Air Force photo/Duncan Wood

The Chinese regime’s fielding of a new hypersonic weapons system might indicate that the nation is shifting away from its pledge of not using nuclear weapons first in a potential conflict, according to the Pentagon’s second-highest-ranking officer.

“They look like a first-use weapon,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten said during an interview with CBS. “That’s what those weapons look like to me.”