US Defense Secretary: China's hypersonic missile test is 'disturbing'

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said China's hypersonic missile test this week raised "concerns" about Beijing's growing capability, but he said he did not compare it to Russia's launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in the 1950s, Voice of America reports.

"Those are terms I wouldn't use, personally, I don't use," Austin told reporters when asked if the July 27 launch was a "Sputnik moment."

Austin called China a "steady-growing challenge" to the US military, but added that the US is focused on "powerful capabilities across the spectrum" and not just one specific capability like hypersonic weapons.

Although the Chinese weapon missed its target by several kilometers, according to the Financial Times, the test marked the first time any country had sent a hypersonic weapon around the Earth. Hypersonic weapons travel at more than five times the speed of sound and are extremely difficult to track.

China has denied that it has conducted a hypersonic missile test, saying it was testing a reusable spacecraft.

In an interview with CBS News that aired this week, General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took a stronger tone when discussing the hypersonic test.

"It's a very significant capability that has the potential to change a lot of things," Hyten said.

Asked if he would compare the Chinese test to Sputnik, Hyten replied that "from a technology perspective, it's pretty impressive."

“But Sputnik created a sense of urgency in the United States,” the second-highest-ranking general said. “The July 27 test didn’t create that sense of urgency. I think it probably should create a sense of urgency.”

China has already deployed a medium-range hypersonic weapon, according to Hyten, while the US is still years away from deploying its first.

Last month, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also called the Chinese test "very concerning."

"I don't know if it's a Sputnik moment, but I think it's very close to that. It has all our attention," Milley said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Russia-Ukraine tensions

Earlier at the Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Austin called on Russia to be more transparent about its troop buildup on the border with Ukraine.

"We're not sure exactly what Mr. Putin is doing, but these moves certainly have our attention," he said.

In early November, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said that about 90,000 Russian troops were near the border and in rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine.

A buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine earlier this year heightened tensions with the West. Russian officials said the troops were deployed for exercises to counter security threats posed by nearby NATO forces.

Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and has since supported a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.