Milley calls China hypersonic missile test ‘very close’ to ‘Sputnik moment’

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the highest-ranking US general, warned that China’s possible hypersonic missile system is “very concerning,” calling it “very close” to a “Sputnik moment” that triggered the space race during the Cold War.

“What we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system. And it is very concerning,” Milley said during an interview with “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations” on Bloomberg Television. “I don’t know if it’s quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it’s very close to that. It has all of our attention.” 

Milley’s comments are the strongest acknowledgment of the likely test from the Biden administration after President Biden said last week that he was concerned.