US Defense Secretary Mark Esper (AFP photo)

The Pentagon has reluctantly acknowledged it is developing hypersonic weapons, hours after refusing to comment on President Donald Trump’s remarks about a new super-duper missile.

In a rhetoric that fueled fears of new nuclear arms race, Trump said on Friday that his country was building incredible military equipment, at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.

Trump said that Washington has no choice with the adversaries we have out there, referring to China and Russia.

The Department of Defense did not offer any clarity on Trump’s remarks, nor did the White House.

The Pentagon referred reporters to the White House and the White House, in turn, referred them back to the Pentagon.

After their refusal to comment on the issue was revealed to the media, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson Jonathan Rath Hoffman, finally took to twitter to comment on the president’s remarks.

The Department of Defense is working on developing a range of hypersonic missiles to counter our adversaries, he wrote.

Back in 2018, Trump directed the Pentagon to establish the Space Force - the first new US military branch in 72 years - calling for his country’s dominance in space.

Late last year, he signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes funds for the country’s controversial Space Force.

He said back then that with his signature today, you will witness the birth of the Space Force and that there was going to be a lot of things happening in space.

Trump also claimed that both China and Russia have been seeking to militarize space.

That prompted Russia to warn Washington against destabilizing the situation in space security.

In another move that sparked fears of another arms race among the world powers, Trump pulled out the US from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia.

The deal was signed in 1987 to ban all land-based missiles with the range of up to 5,500 kilometres.

SOURCE: PRESS TV