This week, the US tested a hypersonic prototype missile in its bid to develop a weapon capable of reaching any target in the world in an hour. How will China and Russia respond? As top-secret, super-fast missile experiments go, it wasn't the most successful. This week the US tested its Advanced Hypersonic Weapons system, the Pentagon's latest attempt to create a weapon that can reach any target in the world, in just an hour. Instead it exploded within four seconds of takeoff and fell back down to earth, causing undisclosed damage to the test site. Yet while the system failed this test, it's unlikely to cool the enthusiasm for developing such a weapon which has already sparked a new arms race between China, Russia and the US and which critics fear could potentially spark a nuclear war. full text http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/aug/26/hypersonic-weapons-global-arms-race-us-tested-prototype The militarization of space USA /Japan and Russia/China The strategic assessment of 2013 showed that the threats connected with placement and expansion of the weapon and military technologies in space, include space investigation and supervision, restriction and preventing to operations performed in space and rocket attacks like space earth. Now the United States and Japan actively expand the cooperation in the field of formation of fighting systems of the class "space Earth" that China considers as threat for the economic and military potential. Russia and China signed the Memorandum of understanding providing possibility of collaboration in the field of satellite radio navigation. The countries plan building of objects of GLONASS system (Global navigation satellite system) and the Satellite Beidou navigation system in territories each other. Besides, China and Russia agreed about cooperation concerning the land reception GPS equipment and the related infrastructure. Similar cooperation promotes further development of systems of precision weapons of the big range, satellites demanding existence and navigation systems which will interfere with operation of the American ultraprecise weapon operated by means of GPS. Competition between China/Russia and USA/Japan arose against strengthening of global rivalry between China and America, deterioration of the bilateral relations of the USA and Russia and an aggravation of contradictions between China and Japan. All this, as a result is quite predictable was and became a process of militarization of a space. full text http://www.warandpeace.ru/ru/news/view/93468/ (RUS)
Now Putin got a hypersonic missile... Russia Test-fires 'Ideal' Hypersonic Missile 11 Mar 2018 | Russia said Sunday it successfully launched a hypersonic missile, which President Vladimir Putin called "an ideal weapon" when he unveiled a new array of next-generation arms earlier this month. See also: Russia 'test-fires hypersonic Kinzhal missile' 11 March 2018 | Russia says it has successfully test-launched a hypersonic missile, one of a range of nuclear-capable weapons announced by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
If the Ruskies figure out a way to boost the acceleration of the warheads on the way down then they may have something.
1. There is no credible defense against multiple ICBMs, nor will there be in our lifetimes. The problem is unsolvable. 2. Greater deterrence than thousands of nuclear strikes is not needed. Nor will it be in our lifetimes. Moot issue.
Nuclear ICBMs or a suitcase full of anthrax fitted with a timing device to explode it in the middle of Manchester, London, New York and Washington - the result is the same, and at a fraction of the cost; and nobody would ever know who had placed it there?? Hold that thought!
Everyone was thinking it, but the FBI will still be with you shortly. Nukes are more likely to get us killed by accident than on purpose
The first part was jocular commentary on the risks of talking about terror on the internet and the latter is an unrelated comment on the dangers of nuclear armament
Depending to Statements of some People here in Forum the Russians still have and about Chine ... who knows ...
Russia and China can't be our friends if they're developing weapons we can't deter... America's top nuclear commander: Russia and China can't be our friends if they're developing weapons we can't deter Tue, 7 Aug 2018 America's top nuclear commander warned Tuesday that Russia and China are not "friends" of the United States, while the two nations sprint to develop hypersonic weapons a threat, the United States currently cannot defend against. "You can't call them [Russia and China] our friends if they're building weapons that can destroy the United States of America," U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten said. Hyten added that the Pentagon has nearly a dozen programs tasked with developing and defending against the new breed of weapons. See also: China successfully tests its hypersonic Starry Sky-2 aircraft that will fire nuclear missiles capable of travelling at 4,563 miles-per-hour to evade existing anti-missile defence systems 7 August 2018 | The hypersonic weapon rides on the shockwaves it generates, reports suggest It can travel at six times the speed of sound – around 7,344km/h (4,563mph) The flight test was deemed a 'huge success' by scientists involved in the project Experts say it could signal China is now neck-and-neck with Russia and the US [/quote] China has successfully tested a hypersonic aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons that evade existing anti-missile defence systems, according reports. The next-generation weapon, known as Xingkong-2 or Starry Sky-2, will ride the shockwave generated by the initial launch, which is handled by a rocket, to travel at six times the speed of sound, or Mach 6 – around 4,563mph (7,344kmph). Starry Sky-2 will purportedly be able to switch direction during its flight, making it harder to track and intercept. China has tested a hypersonic aircraft called Starry Sky-2 (pictured) that could carry nuclear weapons and evade anti-missile defence systems, reports suggest Scientists involved in the latest test flight have heralded it as a 'huge success', with experts saying the aircraft signals China is now neck-and-neck with Russia and the United States in the race to create hypersonic warheads. When the aircraft fires its missiles, these will also travel at top speeds of 4,563mph (7,344kmph) and will easily defeat conventional anti-missile defence systems. China has long been suspected of building an arsenal of hypersonic weapons, but this new test flight is the first proof the technology is actively being developed. Russia is believed to be developing a hypersonic weapon called the Zircon. The missile is capable of travelling twice as fast as the Royal Navy's Sea Ceptor missile (pictured), which would be responsible for shooting it down were it to attack British troops or mainland UK The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA) said in a statement the latest test flight – carried out at an undisclosed location in northwest of the country – was a 'huge success', writes South China Morning Post. The Starry Sky-2 aircraft was carried into space before separating from the launcher rocket and flying on its own power. Known as a 'waverider', these hypersonic aircrafts uses the shockwaves from its own flight as a lifting surface to travel through the air at fast speeds. In the latest tests, the aircraft was able to maintain speeds greater than five-and-a-half times the speed of sound for 400 seconds at an altitude of 30km (19 miles). Defence firm Lockheed Martin revealed details of a $928 million (£661 million) contract to make a radical new weapon that will travel more than five times the speed of sound. This 2010 file photo shows rival Boeing's X-51A WaveRider hypersonic vehicle under a B-52 bomber Local reports suggest it also achieved a top speed of Mach 6. 'The test … has laid a solid technological foundation for engineering applications of the waverider design,' the CAAA statement claimed. Hypersonic weapons can defeat existing anti-missile defences as they are designed to switch direction during their flight. These missiles do not follow a predictable ballistic arc like conventional projectiles, making them much harder to track and intercept. According to the CAAA, the aircraft landed 'whole' in the designated target zone. However, this technology is not ready to be rolled-out yet. MORE[/quote]
Physics has limits. The size of the suitcase limits the size of the explosion. It won’t cripple the US.
[/QUOTE] Too bad China has only a couple of hundred warheads while we have thousands. And last time I checked, no one can really stop a warhead approaching from space, like all ICBM’s do.
Who cares? We don’t have a good anti missile defense. Neither do Russians nor Chinese. The speed of the missile makes very little difference.
We already have Rods from God in space which make nukes look ridiculous in comparison, plus they leave no radiation. One of those can easily level an entire city so why do we need these silly missiles? On top of that, we can control their devastating power, from a block, to a city, to even greater damage. The games already over. And to think how simple it is...basically dropping a big pipe from space. No explosives needed. The only issue of course is that its about a quarter of a billion dollars for one shot.
I wasn't thinking of explosives, I was thinking of something much worse than being vapororized. I won't say exactly what lest providence should be tempted. Now that I think about it, being vaporized wouldn't be such a bad option.
You are posting threats that are literally out of this world. Should I have a few drinks and bring up Dart Wader and the Death Star? We can sit here and fantasize just about anything.