Washington DC, April 28 -- Top Pentagon officials have admitted that the current US defence systems can only counter small-scale attacks and provide negligible protection against hypersonic or cruise missiles, as concerns about China's evolving military capabilities force Washington to acknowledge major gaps in its homeland missile defence.

Senior US Defence and military officials on Monday (local time) testified regarding fiscal year 2027 budget requests, highlighting the need for advanced missile defence against growing threats from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The officials warned that adversaries are now developing "non-ballistic threats, including hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles designed to hold our homeland at ri...