Science body VKI reassesses its ties to Chinese developer of ‘Guam Killer’ hypersonic missile
- Brussels-based aerospace institute looks deeper into relations with Casic
- Analyst says cooperation on technology can be complicated by military links
An aerospace institute in Brussels is investigating exchanges and collaboration between its scientists and a major Chinese defence contractor, but management at the Belgium-based non-profit did not reveal details.
Professor Herman Deconinck, deputy director of the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI), said it was looking into staff members’ relations with China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (Casic), a state-owned developer of hypersonic weapons that include the DF-26 missile in service with the People’s Liberation Army.
“The VKI has scientific exchanges with many colleagues, including Chinese. These interactions can be categorised as typical interactions between scientists,” Deconinck said in an interview last week, referring to the VKI’s collaboration with Casic.
He said the institute, founded in 1956 by Hungarian-American rocket scientist Theodore von Karman to encourage development of civilian and military aerospace technology by Nato nations, was involved in a “deeper” probe into that relationship but he did not elaborate.
The US had “very recently” made a decision in principle to return to the VKI as a member after a more than 12-year absence, Deconinck said.