I'm old enough to remember how Japan was underestimated, then South Korea, and then China. China delivers exactly the specified quality, this is not a matter of luck like with Indian suppliers.
They not only copy but optimize things. That's why Haier could buy the appliance division from GE, they have the fresh ideas. That's why they have hypersonic missiles: they not only stole the fluid dynamic computations from the US but built the shockwave tunnels to adjust the computer models to reality. They never stop with just doing the same the West can do.
Has anyone seen the hypersonic missiles in action? I heard video from their space station had an open cup holding water (I didn't see it myself). I think there is a lot of deception coming out of China. I don't know exactly what is real vs illusion.
There are videos of hypersonic missiles in the Ukraine. The hot plasma glows in front of the missile and a ground-to-air missile sent to catch the thing is slow like an airsnail in comparison.
I've read about the Chinese shockwave wind tunnels 20 years ago. They do a lot of basic research instead of relying on computer simulations like the West does. The Russians have the materials that can withstand the heat of the plasma caused by the compressed air. I'm sure that there was some technology transfer because for hypersonic missiles you need both the fluid dynamics and the material.
We've had the tech and materials to resist plasma at 17,500 mph as the space shuttle reenters the atmosphere in the 1970s. That's roughly 20x the speed of a hypersonic missile.
I'm not in the defense industry so I don't know exactly what level of real world testing takes place anymore. In years past, we did every real world evaluation possible. I did work for Mil/Aero in the semiconductor biz in the 1980s and we performed every real world test possible on the devices destined for space and military applications. That's why a simple 14, 16, 20 pin dip, flatpak packaged device was priced around $1 for the commercial pdip device, ceramic packaged same die for Mil was priced over $300 each (at that time, +/-40 years ago). There was centrifuge, gross and fine leak, temperature extremes, RADHARD, and a multitude of other tests and inspections performed over and above what the commercial grade parts received.
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