Last weekend, the Financial Times reported that China had tested in August a weapon system that used a Long March 2 rocket to boost a nuclear-capable weapon into low-earth orbit, giving it effectively unlimited range.

From this lofty vantage, the system de-orbited a hypersonic glide vehicle towards a target, which it ended up missing by twenty-four miles. A spokesperson from China’s foreign ministry has since claimed that the test had purely civilian purposes.

China’s alleged test of an exotic orbital nuclear weapon system rang alarm bells, even if that initial test demonstrated poor accuracy. Such a system seems intended to literally circumnavigate existing U.S. missile defense radars and interceptors by attacking from an unexpected angle.