US Endangered by China, Russia's Advancement In Hypersonic Missiles

A new air force study warns about the possibilities of US becoming vulnerable to future attack by hypersonic missiles from China and Russia.

Experts for the Air Force Studies Board at the National Academies of Science say that the federal republic country is falling behind in the technology race to develop defensive and offensive high-speed maneuvering arms.

Just a month ago China as well as Russia claimed of having test fired high speed missiles that can destroy the targets of hundreds of miles away, on the other hand the US is at Leisurely pace.

The study further states that China and Russia are already flight testing high-speed maneuvering weapons (HSMWs) that may endanger forward-deployed US forces and even continental US too, The Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday.

“These weapons appear to operate in regimes of speed and altitude, with maneuverability that could frustrate existing missile defense constructs and weapon capabilities.” an executive summary of the report explains.

The report calls for timely investment in hypersonic weapons development as powers like China and Russia are continuing in their capabilities. Also, some security analysts say the danger can be mitigated by a “silver bullet” solution, or that the threat will never fully emerge.

Air Force officials also expressed hope to have hypersonic missiles that can cross countries in minutes by four years.

“Our goal is to assure that the Air Force has the knowledge in 2020 or over the next five years to be able to make acquisition decisions using this technology,” Kenneth Davidson, manager of the hypersonic materials development at the Air Force Research Laboratory said.

A hypersonic weapon that could carry a small, conventional warhead, could be used as a stand-off missile, so the military could strike targets at a safe distance without putting pilots and aircraft at risk.