The news comes after Beijing denied launching a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, possibly intensifying the existing weapons race between China, the United States, and Russia.

Officials in the United States were concerned after the projectile circled the globe, but China said the missile launch was for a spacecraft.

According to the storey, experts at China's National University of Defence Technology claim to have created technology that allows a hypersonic missile to locate a target based on its heat signature.

According to research reported by the South China Morning Post, senior scientist Professor Yi Shihe stated last month in a scholarly study that China has produced a "series of key technical breakthroughs that were proven successful in testing."

If this is correct, China may have surmounted the challenge of building a heat-seeking device capable of operating at hypersonic speeds.

The accomplishment is difficult since the missile's speed produces heat, which might interfere with detecting systems.

Hypersonic missiles have a top speed of 21,000 mph and can attack anywhere on Earth in minutes from space.

Experts believe that hypersonic missiles might be used to start World War Three, and Russia, China, and the United States are all working on next-generation missiles, according to the article.

(IANS/PR)

(keywords: China, next-generation heat-seeking hypersonic missiles, United States)