Superfast aircraft test a 'success'

Hypersonic vehicle rides its own shock waves to hit 7,344 km/h

China has successfully developed and tested a cutting-edge hypersonic aircraft that rides its own shock waves, according to the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics in Beijing.

The academy, part of the State-owned space contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, announced on Friday that the first flight-test of its Starry Sky 2 - which it calls the nation's first hypersonic experimental waverider vehicle - was conducted that morning at an unidentified testing field in northwestern China. It said the test was a "huge success".