Once again, China is making serious military advances thanks to American taxpayers and U.S. technology.

As the Pentagon struggles to develop its own hypersonic missile capability, China's program is far more advanced — by years — and that is thanks in large part to the use of specialized technology obtained from firms funded by the Department of Defense, an explosive new report claims.

"American firms funded by the Pentagon are selling their technology to Chinese companies involved in hypersonic missiles, according to a new analysis," reported the UK's Daily Mail.  "Under U.S. law, the sale of American products to China is banned if there is knowledge or even reasonable suspicion that they will be used for developing a missile."

However, the Washington Post, in a Monday report, noted that it had uncovered several examples of American firms supplying Chinese companies and operations with equipment and/or software, often through the use of middlemen.

The paper's report notes:

Military research groups at the leading edge of China's hypersonics and missile programs — many on a U.S. export blacklist — are purchasing a range of specialized American technology, including products developed by firms that have received millions of dollars in grants and contracts from the Pentagon, a Washington Post investigation has found.