No longer safe at the rear? How China's hypersonic weapons could hunt US aircraft

China develops hypersonic weapon to target US aircraft far from battlefield (AP photo)China has developed hypersonic glide vehicles that can launch air-to-air missiles, a new capability that could threaten high-value US aircraft such as command-and-control and surveillance planes from thousands of miles away, according to Bloomberg.The development is part of China’s wider effort to expand the use of its huge missile arsenal for different military missions. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that China has also added air-to-air capabilities to some hypersonic cruise missiles and anti-ship capabilities to several other missile types.Hypersonic weapons could target support aircraftUS military aircraft such as aerial tankers, airborne warning-and-control planes and flying command