The public should be worried that China has completed hundreds of hypersonic missile tests while the US has done less than 10, says the nation’s second-highest ranking military officer, echoing previous concerns by top military brass.

Speaking at a Defense Writers Group roundtable, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten said China’s hypersonic missile advancements is an area of concern.

‘What you need to be worried about is that in the last five years, or maybe longer, the United States has done nine hypersonic missile tests, and in the same time the Chinese have done hundreds,’ Hyten said, according to reports.

‘Single digits versus hundreds is not a good place.’

He did not elaborate further on his concerns.

A hypersonic air-breathing weapons concept missile is seen in an artist's conception

Artist’s conception of a hypersonic missile concept for air-breathing weapons

DF-17 Dongfeng medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with a DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle, are shown in this 2019 file photo

This 2019 file photo shows DF-17 Dongfeng medium range ballistic missiles, equipped with a DFZF hypersonic glide car.

It was revealed last week that a rocket failure caused a delay in the US military’s test of its hypersonic weapons system.

ABC News reported that despite having been scheduled to test its Army-Navy common hypersonic body in Kodiak Alaska, it failed to launch.

According to intelligence sources, China also conducted a second test on a hypersonic orbital ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

The test took place on August 13, and involved a similar hypersonic glide vehicle to the one launched into space on a Long March rocket in June. This was first reported earlier this month.

The new technology appears to have caught US officials off-guard, especially since it ‘defies the laws physics’ and is superior to any American weapon.

Hyten said the pace in which China is moving was ‘stunning.’

Joint Chiefs of Staff General vice chairman John Hyten said the public should be worried that China has completed hundreds of hypersonic missile tests while the US has done 9

John Hyten, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Vice Chairman, stated that the public should be concerned that China has conducted hundreds of hypersonic missile testing while the US only has done 9.

China is thought to have carried out two tests of a hypersonic orbital nuke - the first on July 27 and the second on August 13 this year. Observers believe the 'weapon' is an updated version of a Soviet concept called a 'Fractional Orbital Bombardment System', or FOBS. It is designed to evade powerful US radar systems and anti-missile defences designed to shoot down traditional ICBMs by flying in low-Earth orbit, making it harder to spot, track and destroy

China is believed to have conducted two tests of a hypersonic nuke, the first on July 27, and the second on Aug 13. According to observers, the weapon is an updated Soviet concept known as a ‘Fractional Orbital Bombardment System’ (or FOBS). It is designed for evade US radar systems and anti missile defences. 

‘The pace they’re moving and the trajectory they’re on will surpass Russia and the United States if we don’t do something to change it,’ he said. ‘It will happen.

These are the two types of hypersonic weapon:

Hypersonic glide vehicles 

A hypersonic glide vehicle is lifted up on a rocket to heights between 25 and 62 miles above the ground before it detaches to glide in the upper atmosphere towards its target. 

It is released at such a height and speed as to allow it glide unpowered to the target. 

Gliding vehicles have control surfaces that allow them to steer in unpredictable directions and maneuver sharply when it approaches impact.

These glide vehicles follow an easier and flatter trajectory than the arching path of a balistic missile. 

Hypersonic cruise missiles

After acquiring their target, these missiles are powered with high-speed, air breathing engines. 

While they have internal engines,  unlike regular cruise missiles, they travel far faster and higher. 

‘I think we have to do something.’

Hyten’s concerns echoed those expressed earlier this week by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff.

Milley called China’s suspected testing for hypersonic weapons “very concerning” in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s The David Rubenstein Show.

He said, “I don’t know if this is quite a Sputnik Moment, but I think that it’s very close to that,” referring to when the Soviet Union beat America into space in 1957 with its Sputnik Satellite. “It has all our attention.”

Milley also warned the U.S. that the new missile system is just one of many issues to be concerned as the Chinese military expands.

“The Chinese military capabilities exceed that.” He told Bloomberg that they are expanding rapidly in cyberspace, in space, and in traditional domains like land, sea, and air. ‘We’re in one of the most significant changes in what I call the “character of war.“’

According to the state-owned Global Times newspaper, the technology is intended to cut off enemy supply lines in case of conflict.

It said that the underwater demolitions were a response to changing U.S. strategies in the Pacific.

This tactic increases logistics operations required to keep large aircraft carriers afloat, according the Times. It makes attacks on infrastructure like ports and wharfs more crucial.

An unnamed military expert stated that if ports are destroyed, enemy logistics support and dispersed fighting forces will both fail.

ABC News cited a US official who said that a booster rocket with a hypersonic glide body attached failed to launch during a launch test at Kodiak, Alaska. The image above shows a March 19, 2020 test of the joint Army-Navy common hypersonic glide body that is being developed for launch from both land and submarine

ABC News quoted a US official who claimed that a booster Rocket with a hypersonic glider body attached failed launch during a Kodiak launch test. The image above shows a March 19, 2020 test of the joint Army-Navy common hypersonic glide body that is being developed for launch from both land and submarine

This is the latest in a global arms race among Russia, China, and the US that is taking place in the midst of increasing tensions between the superpowers of the eastern Pacific.

All three countries are actively involved in the wholesale updating of their militaries. This includes the development of new nuclear technology, which allows them to strike each other at close range.

In recent years, China and Russia have unveiled new, more powerful ICBMs that can launch multiple nuclear warheads at targets thousands of miles away.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff described China's alleged testing of hypersonic weapons as 'very concerning'

General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described China’s alleged testing of hypersonic weaponry as’very concerning’  

China, the US and Russia are engaged in a global arms race that now includes the development of hypersonic missile technology. Here, the MailOnline has compared (from left) each country's main nuclear weapon, the latest hypersonic technology they have tested, their most up-to-date aircraft carriers, main battle tanks, and cutting-edge jets

The US, Russia and China are all involved in a global arms race which now includes the development hypersonic missile technology. The MailOnline has compared, from left, each country’s main nuclear weapon and the latest hypersonic technology they tested, as well as their most up-to date aircraft carriers, main combat tanks, and cutting edge jets.

The United States, Russia, and at least five countries are also working together on hypersonic technology. North Korea announced last month that it had tested-fired a new hypersonic missile.

Russia has previously tested a hypersonic cruise rocket known as Zircon. It flies below atmospheric pressure and uses fuel to propel it to hypersonic speeds, rather than Earth’s orbit.

Although the Pentagon did no comment on China’s hypersonic missile testing, they did acknowledge China’s ‘number-one pacing challenge’.

John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson told Fox News that ‘we have made it clear our concerns about China’s military capabilities, capabilities which only increase tensions in this region and beyond.’ “That is why we consider China our number one pacing threat.”