{"id":10507,"date":"2023-04-22T21:14:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T21:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=10507"},"modified":"2023-04-22T21:14:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T21:14:31","slug":"americas-hypersonic-arms-race-with-china-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=10507","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s hypersonic arms race with China, explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“Hypersonic weapons, or vehicles and missiles that travel faster than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, aren\u2019t new; the US has been developing and testing these weapons since the 1950s. But there\u2019s been relatively little USinvestment in these systems in recent decades, while China and Russia have developed their hypersonics programs. Russia even used six of its hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine earlier this month<\/a>, the largest number the country has deployed in one strike during the war. Other countries including Australia, Iran, both North and South Korea, Brazil, Germany, Israel, India, and Japan are developing hypersonic programs. However, the increase in funding and tempo of the US program comes as relations between the US and China are the worst they\u2019ve been in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Defense\u2019s proposed budget for Army and Air Force hypersonics development and requisition for the years 2023 through 2027 sits at $15 billion, according to a January report from the Congressional Budget Office<\/a>. That figure doesn\u2019t include the Navy\u2019s hypersonics development program, which in February announced a $1.1 billion contract with the defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin<\/a> to add a hypersonic system to Zumwalt-class destroyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense officials<\/a> have argued for years that the US is \u201cbehind\u201d China in its hypersonic weapons development, and that may be true. China fielded a test in 2021<\/a> of a hypersonic, nuclear-capable weapon which at the time took many in the defense community by surprise and showed astounding development in China\u2019s hypersonics capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce, American technological predominance was regarded as all but unassailable, and China tended to be dismissed as a copycat that was unlikely to close the gap,\u201d Elsa Kania, an adjunct senior fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, told Vox in an email. \u201cToday, recognition of China\u2019s potential to lead in new frontiers and strategic technologies is heightening the urgency behind US efforts and programs on several fronts.\u201d”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where hypersonic weapons really differ from ballistic weapons isn\u2019t necessarily their speed, but their maneuverability in flight and their ability to evade missile detection and defense systems like the Patriot<\/a>. One of the US\u2019 most advanced missile defense systems, the Patriot is also used in 17 other countries. They evade detection<\/a> during parts of their journey by exiting or nearly exiting the earth\u2019s atmosphere and by shifting their course during flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the near term, hypersonic weapons systems are expected to have the potential to overcome even the most sophisticated air and missile defense systems,\u201d Kania told Vox.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/world-politics\/2023\/3\/25\/23656256\/americas-hypersonic-arms-race-china-russia-missiles<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Hypersonic weapons, or vehicles and missiles that travel faster than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, aren\u2019t new; the US has been developing and testing these weapons since the 1950s. But there\u2019s been relatively little USinvestment in these systems<\/p>\n

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