Mystery phenomenon in sky fuels 'top-secret' theory
An eerie phenomenon in the sky has baffled residents in Beijing with many believing the spectacular images to be the Chinese military testing a top-secret hypersonic aircraft.
While officials have yet to confirm the latest round of testing, Chinese military bloggers claim the eerie phenomenon was caused by the hypersonic glide vehicle known as DF-ZF, which experts say can deliver a nuclear payload and reach Mach 10.
The aircraft was codenamed WU-14 by the Pentagon until China’s Ministry of National Defence unveiled its name in 2014, with the aircraft having since been tested a known seven times, the latest sightings on October 11 not included.
Residents in Beijing as well as in the northern regions of Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi province recorded videos showing the bright white plumes in the sky, which were also likened to SpaceX’s recent Falcon 9 launch after it created similar images.
As the DF-ZF’s test launches have all been from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in North China’s Shanxi province – and because no other satellite launches were reported on the day, the sightings seem to corroborate suggestions it was indeed the glider’s eighth flight test to date.
The otherwise secretive test appeared to catch many residents off guard as they stared at the sky in amazement, often shouting: “What is that? What is that thing?”
The DZ-ZF, capable of speeds between Mach 5 and Mach 10 (6,173km/h) and Mach 10 (12,360km/h), is said to be scheduled for operation by 2020.
US intelligence reports quoted in Chinese state media back in 2015 had already discussed the Chinese might be developing a hypersonic glide vehicle that could carry nuclear weapons and carry out precision strikes that would bypass even the most complex missile defence systems.
– AsiaWire
