The U.S.'s ability to counter emerging hypersonic threats has completed a major milestone as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Phase 2 of the Glide Breaker Program.
Among its other projects, DARPA is also focusing on the development of the hypersonic missiles which are currently under flight testing.
However, with adversarial countries such as Russia and North Korea having tested their versions of hypersonic missiles, the U.S. also needs to develop systems that can counter these missiles if they were ever fired toward U.S. territory.
How does one counter hypersonic missiles?
To understand how a hypersonic missile can be countered, one needs to understand how the hypersonic missile works. There are two major hypersonic missiles: a cruise missile and a hypersonic boost-glide missile.
While the former works like any other cruise missile but at hypersonic speeds, the latter is relatively easier to work with. READ MORE...
Chinese scientists have made a startling claim about its hypersonic weapons program after a series of tests it carried out last year. In what could be termed as a modern-day arms race, China has moved with unprecedented speed to acquire and upgrade its hypersonic capabilities.
Chinese scientists have claimed that they have produced next-generation hypersonic weapons with infrared homing advancements that the US military may not have until 2025.
According to the researchers, heat-seeking capabilities allow Chinese hypersonic missiles to home in on practically any target with remarkable accuracy and speed, including stealth aircraft, ships, and even moving vehicles on the street.
This could cause widespread concern in the United States when viewed alongside the claims made by a Chinese military expert.
According to South China Morning Post, a Chinese military expert had earlier said that “a ground-to-air hypersonic missile could catch up and destroy an F-22 (Raptor) in seconds if it fired a missile or dropped a bomb from short range”.
Additionally, according to the US Air Force, heat-seeking missiles have shot down around 90% of all aircraft lost during the 1980s, and stealth fighters like the F-22 could be potential targets since their coating materials heat up easily in flight.
The F-22 Raptor is not only a lethal American fighter but also an important part of the Global Strike Task Force which is responsible for fielding combat-ready forces for nuclear deterrence and global strike operations.
The susceptibility of this aircraft to be tracked and shot by heat-seeking missiles makes the Chinese claim about its hypersonic missiles all the more significant and could send shock waves in the United States.
A hypersonic missile’s ability to search for, identify, and lock on to a target based on its heat signature when flying at low altitudes where the air is thicker could revolutionize conventional warfare, according to Chinese researchers from the National University of Defence Technology’s hypersonic infrared homing program. READ MORE...
Imagine if a foreign country launched a nuclear attack on the continental United States and the Pentagon had only six minutes to respond. That’s the potential of a new generation of weapons on the horizon, according to a recent Rand Corp. report.
Rand is urging the United States, China, and Russia to form an agreement on how to handle hypersonic missiles, which travel at more than five thousand kilometers per hour (about 3,100 mph). Hypersonic weapons are more than five times faster than a regular cruise missile and would not be detected by U.S. air defense systems as early as ballistic missiles.
The United States, China, and Russia are all known to be close to achieving deployable hypersonic systems and are ahead of other countries, according to Rand.
“Hypersonic missile proliferation would increase the chances of strategic war,” said Richard Speier, lead author of Rand’s report, in a press release.
The speed forces quick military counter-decisions with potentially disastrous effect. “It would give nations an incentive to become trigger-happy,” he said.
The United States likely has less than a decade to counter the proliferation of hypersonic missiles, though they are not yet operational, according to the report. Current missile defense systems would not be effective at defending against hypersonic missiles, and Rand urges changes to the existing missile technology control regime to anticipate and address them.
Crunched for time with dire stakes, countries might adopt a so-called launch-on-warning doctrine, or they might just strike first. Without time to consult a traditional chain of command, nations might feel compelled to give the military command and control, increasing the likelihood of accidental war. Countries might also scatter their weapons in order to better respond, which would give terrorists greater opportunity to steal the weapons for themselves, the report said.
“None of these options is very good,” Speier said. To Know More About Hypersonic Missiles and Possible War, CLICK HERE...
