The following article indicates how America is losing its technological edge. Despite claiming that the U.S. is well on the way to developing hypersonic weapons it ignores one salient point. Russia already has such weapons.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Russia\u2019s hypersonic missiles are not only developed but also fully deployed with frontline units.<\/p>\n
The following doesn\u2019t give any dates as to when America\u2019s hypersonic weapons are expected. This omission is crucial as America\u2019s hypersonic weapons may only be ready for service sometime between 2025-2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n In other words, in terms of hypersonic weapons at least, America is lagging 5-10 years behind Russia.<\/p>\n Hypersonic weapons could soon fire from U.S. Navy destroyers and take off at speeds five times the speed of sound from deck-mounted Vertical Launch Systems, fire from airborne bombers and shoot up from the ground near the boundaries of space.<\/p>\n One particular program now approaching this kind of tactical ability is a DARPA\/Air Force program called the Tactical Boost Glide program, a weapon DARPA data explains consists of a rocket accelerating<\/a> to high speed and then separating from the payload which then \u201cglides unpowered to its destination.\u201d<\/p>\n A still from a Russian government video shows the Kinzhal hypersonic missile detaching from a MiG-31 aircraft. Some units of the Russian Air Force have already been equipped with hypersonic weapons. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n A September 2019 Congressional Research Service report described the TBG as \u201ca wedge-shaped hypersonic glide vehicle capable of Mach 7+ flight that \u2018aims to develop and demonstrate technologies to enable future air-launched<\/a>, tactical-range hypersonic boost glide systems.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n DARPA also seeks to engineer a ground-launched hypersonic weapon able to \u201cpenetrate modern enemy air defenses,\u201d the report – \u201cHypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress\u201d — states<\/p>\n Lockheed Martin\u2019s emerging Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) offers an example of a hypersonic boost-glide vehicl<\/a>e which is propelled up in to the air before relying upon its massive speed of descent to impact and destroy a target. The LRHW, which has now been revealed by Lockheed images, is engineered to travel 60-miles per minute up toward the outer layer of the earth\u2019s atmosphere before gliding at hypersonic speeds<\/a> to its target.<\/p>\n What would it mean for a Navy ship to have this kind of range and strategic attack envelope? Surely such a weapons system would change the tactical equation for maritime warfare <\/a>as it would enable surface warships to destroy enemy land, sea and air targets operating at otherwise unreachable distances or traveling at speed quite difficult to track.<\/p>\n A high-speed hypersonic weapon could not only be used to destroy land targets such as fixed infrastructure\u00a0 or force concentrations from safe standoff distances before an enemy can respond, but also possibly be used as a counter-air weapon able to hit fighter jets traveling themselves at speeds faster than the speed of sound. In this respect, an otherwise \u201chard to target\u201d platform such as an enemy stealth fighter might be vulnerable to attack. This expands the operational scope of Navy ships and of course favors the possibility of successful disaggregated tactical attacks wherein approaching offensive platforms can network in a successful way and integrate coordinated strikes while safer from enemy fire.<\/p>\nHow the U.S. Navy Could Arm Destroyers with Hypersonic Weapons<\/h1>\n
Kris Osborne \u2013 National Interest Nov 28, 2020<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Kinzhal-hypersonic-missile-1024x614.jpg\")
<\/a>