In a rare admission, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the Chinese hypersonic missiles can destroy all US aircraft carriers in just 20 minutes.

“So far our [US] whole power projection platform is aircraft carrier and the ability to project power that way strategically around the globe,” said Hegseth in a recent interview.

However, Hegseth added that China’s 15 hypersonic missiles “can take out 10 aircraft carriers in the first 20 minutes of the conflict,” added Hegseth.

Losing wargames to China

Hegseth said that the US “loses to China in every war game” run by the Pentagon. “China is building an army specifically designed to destroy the US.”

Hegseth blamed the US bureaucracy and slow rate of weapon acquisition for China’s growing edge in the conflicts with the US.

The US Defense Secretary also noted China's risk to the Panama Canal, an artificial 82-kilometer (50.9 miles) Panama waterway connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.

According to Sobel Shipping Network, approximately 40% of US container traffic relies on this route annually, with the United States as the canal’s largest user.

In 2021, over 73% of all vessels transiting the canal were destined for or departing from US ports.

Since Panama’s 2017 diplomatic recognition of China over Taiwan, Beijing has expanded its regional presence, investing heavily in infrastructure projects near the canal.

China’s influence includes control over ports at both ends of the canal through Hutchison Ports PPC, a Hong Kong-based company with ties to Beijing.

Hegseth admitted, “China poses an ongoing threat to the Panama Canal, but together the United States and Panama will keep it secure.”

A joint deal, signed by top security officials from the US and Panama in early April, allows military personnel from the US to deploy to Panama-controlled facilities for training, exercises, and a range of other activities.

Since returning to power in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that China has too much influence over the canal.

With this latest deal, his administration planned to "take back" control of the United States' strategic waterway funded, built, and controlled until 1999.

China’s hypersonic missiles

According to a US Department of Defense (DoD) report published in December 2024, China’s hypersonic missile technologies have greatly advanced during the past 20 years.

Many PRC missile programs are comparable to other international top-tier producers.

China’s deployment of the DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV)-armed medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) will continue to transform the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) missile force, the DoD added.

The system, which was fielded in 2020, may replace some older short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) units and be used to strike foreign military bases and fleets in the Western Pacific.

The DF-27 may have an HGV payload option in addition to conventional land-attack, antiship, and nuclear payloads.

Official Chinese military writings indicate this range class spans 5,000–8,000 km (3,107–4,971 miles), designating the DF-27 as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and the local media indicates that it can potentially range as far as Alaska and Hawaii.

On July 27, 2021, China tested an ICBM-range HGV that traveled 40,000 km (24,854 miles).

In April 2019, the PLA Navy revealed during its 70th-anniversary celebration that its new guided-missile cruiser can employ long-range, land-attack cruise missiles and, in 2022, launched the YJ-21 hypersonic missile designed to defeat aircraft carriers.

According to the DoD, China has the world’s leading hypersonic missile arsenal and has dramatically advanced its development of conventional and nuclear-armed hypersonic missile technologies.