Washington: The United States has successfully tested hypersonic missile technology, a new weapons system already being deployed by China and Russia.
The U.S. Navy said in a statement that the test, conducted Wednesday at a NASA facility in Wallace, Virginia, was “an important step in the development of a typical Navy-designed hypersonic missile.” “This test demonstrated advanced hypersonic technologies, capabilities and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment,” he said.
Hypersonic missiles, like conventional ballistic missiles, can fly up to five times the speed of sound (Mitch 5). They are more efficient than their ballistic counterparts and can detect low speeds in the air, allowing them to defend It becomes difficult.
Ambassador Robert Wood, the US permanent representative to the Arms Conference, expressed concern earlier this week after reports that China had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August.
According to reports, China launched a hypersonic missile that completed a circuit of the planet before landing, missing its target. China insisted the test was a spacecraft routine rather than a missile. “We are very concerned about what China is doing on the hypersonic front,” said Wood, who is stepping down in Geneva next week after seven years.
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Wood said Russia also had hypersonic technology and that while the United States had stopped building military capabilities in the area, it now had no choice but to respond.
“If you are a country that is its target, you want to find a way to protect yourself from it,” he said. “And that’s how we start to see what other applications and defense applications you can bring to hypersonic technology – and so things continue to accelerate the arms race.”
China unveiled in 2019 a DF-17 hypersonic medium-range missile that can cover a distance of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) and carry a nuclear warhead.
The missile mentioned in the news report is different with long range. It can be launched into orbit before returning to space to hit its target.
Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and has been in service since the end of 2019 with a hypersonic nuclear-capable Evanguard missile service. Evanguard can travel up to 27 minutes, changing course and altitude. The Pentagon hopes to deploy its first hypersonic weapons by 2025 and has said that their development is among its “top priorities.”
