China Is Upping the Game in Hypersonic Weapons

Military vehicles, carrying DF-17, on display during the parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. China's military has shown off a new hypersonic ballistic nuclear missile believed capable of breaching all existing anti-missile shields deployed by the U.S. and its allies. Ng Han Guan/AP Photo

News Analysis

The hypersonic missile is the holy grail of the kinetic-kill weapons system. The appeal of such a powerful, supposedly unstoppable weapon is obvious and not lost on the West’s adversaries. It is China, however, that is driving most of the recent concerns over a hypersonics arms race.