Luke Gentile
The Chinese military is apparently using an abandoned NASA design to develop a 6,000-mph hypersonic nuclear missile engine.
A prototype of the engine has been built and tested using a "radical" American design first proposed over 20 years ago as the country competes to outperform the West in a contemporary arms race, according to a report.
The design was presented by Ming Han Tang, a Chinese American and former chief engineer of NASA's hypersonic program.
Tang's Two-Stage Vehicle X-plane is driven by two different engines and can travel faster than five times the speed of sound.
It was initially set to be tested in the early 2000s by the United States, but the program was cut after it was deemed "too costly."
The Chinese military reportedly views money as "no object" and partnered with Tan Huijun, a professor at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, to build a prototype using Tang's blueprints.
"Understanding its work mechanism can provide important guidance to hypersonic plane and engine development," Tan said.
News of the development comes after China recently launched two missiles into space.
One rocket carrying a hypersonic glide was secretly launched in August, leaving American intelligence and military officials stunned.
A hypersonic missile launched in October capable of delivering a nuclear payload was a significant display of Chinese strength.
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