China and the United States both deployed military forces to the region around Taiwan Aug. 1, following Chinese threats of a military attack in response to a proposed visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced through state-owned media that it would deploy forces for live-fire exercises in waters north of Taiwan, between mainland China and South Korea. The exercises are the latest in a series of back-to-back Chinese drills in the region. They are notable, however, in that the announcement was accompanied by footage of China’s D-17 hypersonic missile.
Dubbed the “aircraft carrier killer,” the D-17 is a nuclear-capable ballistic missile fitted with a hypersonic glide vehicle that allows its payload to glide in low orbit at great speed before plunging down on its target. The footage released this week marks the first time ever that a live fire recording of the weapon has been released….