Weapons

Donald Trump scares rivals with secret military weapons ‘nobody’s ever even heard of’

The US President was speaking at a veteran’s event in Virginia before China flexed its muscles with a sabre-rattling display of its growing military might in a parade to celebrate 70 years of Communist rule. He said: “America’s armed forces are more powerful than ever and growing even stronger. We have the newest equipment and we also have equipment that we keep under wraps that nobody’s ever even heard of.”

Earlier, China unveiled its fearsome Dongfeng 41 - a long-range nuclear-armed missile that could reach the US in 30 minutes - as it sent out a clear signal it was close to matching Washington and other powers in arms technology.

Military analysts say the DF-41, flying at 25 times the speed of sound, might be able to reach the US in 30 minutes with up to 10 warheads for separate targets - a technology known as MIRV, or multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles.

The People’s Liberation Army, the world’s biggest military with two million men and women in uniform and the second-highest annual spending after the US, is also developing fighter planes, the first Chinese-built aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarines.