Photo: China Photos / Getty Images
A video published on social networks shows the terrifying moment in which a pilot of a commercial passenger plane recorded a ballistic missile that was fired from a Chinese submarine, dangerously close to the aircraft.
The images, taken from what appears to be the cockpit, showed the warhead streaking past a packed Cathay Pacific flight.
A fellow Airline Pilot friend just sent me this from one of his colleagues at a foreign airline. They were over the South China Sea & were issued a last-minute hectic call from ATC: “turn left 90 degrees immediately!!” Chinese sea launched ballistic missile from a PLAN Submarine! pic.twitter.com/Zf1lf1zCu3— Captain Overnight (@jchovernut) May 23, 2022
According to Allegiant Air pilot John Carter, the Boeing 094 was flying over the South China Sea when the crew received a call from air traffic control ordering them to “turn left 90 degrees immediately”.
The plane deviated after that the missile, which is believed to be an LJ-3 launched from a Chinese nuclear submarine type 094, rose in the sky.
Experts believe that the video posted on Twitter is legitimate .
The video shows the missile flying above the clouds moment after crossing the ocean and disappearing into the sky.
No notices were issued to airmen to warn them of the launch, suggesting the test was a secret execution.
The video appeared online on 24 May, but the actual date and location of the incident are still unknown.
Tensions are already high in the region thanks to the belligerent movements of Beijing in the South China Sea.
The Asian power announced plans to carry out military drills between the 19 and the 23 May, coinciding with the visit of US President Joe Biden to the region.
Later also announced proposals for a new round of war exercises near Hainan scheduled for this week.
China has recently upped the ante by making inroads almost daily s in Taiwan’s defensive airspace.
Last week, Beijing admitted to holding a military exercise around Taiwan as a “solemn warning” against its “collusion” with the United States.
On May 7, North Korea tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The incident came as the top US general issued a stern warning last week that the world faced an increased risk of “global war” amid growing threats from Russia and China.
General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the grim prediction as the specter of nuclear conflict continues to hang over the war raging Ukraine.
I was talking to cadets graduating from the prestigious US Military Academy at West Point , Milley warned them about the risk of a global clash and new technologies, such as robotic tanks.
General Milley said: “The world in which you are commissioned has the potential for a significant international conflict between great powers. And that potential is increasing, not decreasing.”
“And right now, at this very moment, there is a fundamental change taking place in character itself from the war.
“Right now we are facing two global powers, China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities, and both intent on changing the current rules-based order.”
He said that artificial intelligence (AI) being used in warfare is the “deepest change in the history of mankind”.
“They will be fighting with robotic tanks, ships and planes”, predicted the general in his speech.
“We have been witnesses of a revolution in lethal and precision munitions.
“What was once the exclusive province of the armed forces of the United States now is available for most of the nationals with the will of money to acquire them”.
He warned: “Whatever superiority the United States enjoyed militarily during the last 70 years is closing fast.
“We are already challenged in all domains of war in space and cyber, sea, air and, of course, land.
Beijing has been one of the fastest growing powers in the world and has one of the largest militaries in the world. Communist leader Xi Jinping’s nation is currently projected to outperform the US economy by 2030.