 China launched five days of joint military exercises with Russia and Iran in the Indian Ocean, the Chinese Defense Ministry said, against the backdrop of rising armed conflict in the Red Sea. According to South China Morning Post, the Ministry said the navies of China, Iran and Russia would hold the maritime security belt. 2024 joint exercise from March 11 to 15 in the waters near the Gulf of Oman in the Indian Ocean, the maritime drills come as tensions are high in the region due to the war. In Gaza and ongoing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, some U.S. officials have previously expressed concern over growing military ties between the three countries. Earlier, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said that China, Russia and Iran would be a problem for many years to come for Washington. It said China sent the 45th Escort Task Force, consisting of the guided-missile destroyer Yoramki, the guided-missile frigate Leni and the comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu, to the exercise, aiming to jointly maintain regional maritime security, according to the information, representatives from the navies of Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Oman, India and South Africa would act as observers. U.S. Stratolunch Company has achieved a significant milestone by conducting a captive carry flight with the first-powered Telone hypersonic vehicle, TA-1. Under its Rock Mothership, according to the company's press release, this successful flight marks a momentous step towards the company's objective of executing a powered flight with the Telone vehicle. It was a great day for the Stratolunch team. I am extremely proud of their perseverance to reach this point, company president Zachary Krever said in a statement. While I can't share the specific altitude in speed TA-1 reached, we reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5 and collected a great amount of data at an incredible value to our customers. He said, defense contractors hope to capitalize on the shift to hypersonic weapons not only by building them but also by developing new systems to detect and defend against them. Stratolunch hopes to complete development of the reusable Telone this year. Primary objectives for the flight test included accomplishing safe air launch release of the TA-1 vehicle, engine ignition, acceleration, sustained climb and altitude, and a controlled water landing. The statement said, the U.S. and its global rivals are speeding up work on hypersonic weapons, which travel in the upper atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound. Concurrently, Stratolunch is advancing with the production of TA-2 and TA-3 vehicles, envisioned as the initial fully reusable units in the Telone product line. These developments align with the company's commitment to driving forward the innovation and progress of hypersonic technology.