Thursday, October 21, 2021

BAN THEM
US conducts 'successful' test of hypersonic missile technology

Issued on: 21/10/2021 - 
Hypersonic weapons Gal ROMA AFP

Washington (AFP)

The test, conducted Wednesday at a NASA facility in Wallops, Virginia, is a "vital step in the development of a Navy-designed common hypersonic missile," the navy said in a statement.

"This test demonstrated advanced hypersonic technologies, capabilities, and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment," it said.

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Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles, can fly more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5).

But they are more maneuverable than their ballistic counterparts and can trace a low trajectory in the atmosphere, making them harder to defend against.

Ambassador Robert Wood, US permanent representative to the Conference on Disarmament, expressed concern earlier this week following reports that China had conducted a test in August of a hypersonic missile with nuclear capacity.

According to the Financial Times, China launched a hypersonic missile that completed a circuit of the planet before landing, missing its target.

"We are very concerned by what China has been doing on the hypersonic front," said Wood, who next week steps down from his post in Geneva after seven years.

China insisted that the test was a routine one for a spacecraft rather than a missile.

Wood said Russia also had hypersonic technology and while the United States had held back from developing a military capacity in this field, it now had no choice but to respond in kind.

"If you're a country that's the target of that, you're going to want to figure out a way to defend yourself from that," he said.

"And so we start looking at what other applications and defensive applications can you bring to hypersonic technology -- and so that continues to things to accelerate the arms race."

China unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) and can carry nuclear warheads.

The missile mentioned in the FT story is a different one, with a longer range. It can be launched into orbit before coming back into the atmosphere to hit its target.

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and since late 2019 has had the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles in service. The Avangard can travel at up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude.

The Pentagon hopes to deploy its first hypersonic weapons by 2025 and has said their development is one of its "highest priorities."

© 2021 AFP



Pentagon's plans for hypersonic weapons sees setback after rocket fizzles


Airmen secure the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon Instrumented Measurement Vehicle 2 as it is loaded under the wing of a B-52H during a test last August.
 Photo by Giancarlo Casem/U.S. Air Force

Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The Pentagon's hypersonic weapons program hit a stumbling block Thursday after a test of a booster rocket failed.

A booster rocket carrying a hypersonic glide body failed during a test at Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska in Kodiak, reports CBS News. The booster was not directly related to hypersonic technology, and instead just the booster, Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman told CBS News in a statement.

"The booster stack used in the test was not part of the hypersonic program and is not related to the Common Hypersonic Glide Body," he said. "The missile booster is used for testing purposes only."

The U.S. Department of Defense has prioritized developing hypersonic missiles, which are capable of traveling at speeds five times beyond the speed of sound and potentially carrying nuclear warheads. The missiles are also difficult to detect.

The Pentagon is still on track to field offensive hypersonic technology within the next few years, Gorman said.

But the Pentagon was unable to test the hypersonic glide body, a key part to the weapons system, because the rocket failed to launch, reports CNN. A related test failed in April, and China has successfully tested a hypersonic a glide vehicle -- although officials denied the report and insisted it was a "routine spacecraft experiment."

In June, the department said it was accelerating its hypersonic missile program while staying within its $6.6 billion budget. The move came as the department began a missile defense review to match its technology against rival countries including North Korea, Iran, Russia and China.

The Navy successfully tested a second-stage hypersonic rocket motor in August. A month earlier, the U.S. Air Force successfully detonated a hypersonic missile warhead for the first time.

Earlier this month, Russia's Defense Ministry said it successfully test-fired its hypersonic Tsirkon missile from a submarine.

However, the U.S. Army and Navy on Wednesday successfully completed tests of hypersonic missiles, according to a statement.

"During weapon system development, precision sounding rocket launches fill a critical gap between ground testing and full system flight testing," the Navy said in a statement. "These launches allow for frequent and regular flight testing opportunities to support rapid maturation of offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies."

Biden airs hypersonic missile fears as probable ambassador labels China 'untrustworthy'




Joe Biden is worried about China's reported missile program

US President Joe Biden voiced his concern over China's hypersonic missiles on Wednesday, just days after a media report said that Beijing had tested a hypersonic glide vehicle armed with a nuclear weapon.

The launch of the nuclear-capable rocket that circled the globe occurred in August and the development took US intelligence by surprise, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Asked by reporters whether he was concerned about China's hypersonic missile capabilities, Biden said: "Yes."

Hypersonic weapons travel in the upper atmosphere at speeds of around 6,200 kilometers per hour (3,853 miles per hour) — more than five times the speed of sound.

The Financial Times said at the weekend that the rocket flew through space and circled the globe before cruising down toward a target that it ultimately missed.

China's Pacific dominance 'not going to be accepted'

China or Russia with hypersonic missiles 'could be catastrophic'

The United States and its allies are hastening their pace in constructing hypersonic weapons — the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time — in order to keep up with potential adversaries such as China and Russia.

"Hypersonic weapons are strategic game-changers with the dangerous potential to fundamentally undermine strategic stability as we know it," Maine Senator Angus King said earlier this week. "The US cannot lag in this development or allow for blind spots as we monitor the progress of our competitors."

Hypersonic weapons are potential "nightmare weapons," King continued. "The implications of these weapons under development by China or Russia could be catastrophic."

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