Posted on 01/15/2014 3:42:39 PM PST by James C. Bennett
Just what we need, another arms race. China's stepping up its bid for ballistic missile superiority, having just successfully test-fired the country's first hypersonic missile delivery vehicle, one capable of penetrating American air defenses to potentially deliver nuclear warheads. The Pentagon is not amused.
The WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) is part of China's extremely secretive missile development program, which has been quietly modernizing the country's conventional and nuclear missile systems. The missile test itself was not broadcast among any public channels but was detected, an anonymous Pentagon official confirmed with the Washington Free Beacon, flying at extremely high speeds over mainland China on January 9. And while details of the HGV are very slim at this point, analysts believe it works much like the HGV's developed by other nations including the US, India and Russia.
It's assumed that the HGV is launched aboard an ICBM, separates from the missile's final stage while still in space, some 62 miles above the planet's surface, and then zooms back into the atmosphere at more than ten times the speed of sound—around mach 10 or 7,680 miles per hour. That's fast enough to enter American airspace before we even react. By comparison, today's cruise missile technology tops out at around 500 to 600 mph.
This prospect does not sit well with many members of Congress, including Republican House Armed Services Committee members Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Rep. Randy Forbes and Rep. Mike Rogers. The three issued a joint statement last Tuesday calling for a redoubling of American efforts to maintain pace with the rate of Chinese military developments.
"While round after round of defense cuts have knocked America's technological advantage on its back, the Chinese and other competitor nations push towards military parity with the United States; in some cases, as in this one, they appear to be leaping ahead of us," the statement read. "This situation does nothing to support peaceful coexistence in the Pacific. We have dithered for three decades now, delaying badly needed replacement equipment for our troops, relying on hardware that was built during the Reagan years."
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Pool, a Marine Corps spokesman who confirmed that the test took place, was decidedly non-plussed however. He told the Washington Free Beacon:
"We routinely monitor foreign defense activities and we are aware of this test. However, we don't comment on our intelligence or assessments of foreign weapon systems. We encourage greater transparency regarding their defense investments and objectives to avoid miscalculation."
You know, miscalculations like a worldwide thermonuclear holocaust. [Washington Times - Defense Tech - RT - Washington Free Beacon.
[ Free Trade™ paying dividends again. All hail gloBULLism, all hail the New World Oder. ]
I used to believe in Free trade then I woke up and realized that free trade only work between countries like the USA and Canada where Cultural, Economic, Moral and other values are damn near the same, it does not work if any one of these is out of whack and this is why Tariffs are essential, and if you are have Tariffs the domestic population should not be taxed on their income.
Grace, 100 years ago Progressives started the income tax and lowered tariffs to almost zero. We are now just seeing the beginning of the end game. Butthead Nixon really go the ball rolling with Free trade didn't he?
“What it DOES bring to the party is perhaps the ability to maneuver on its way to the target, to evade anti-missile defenses.”
I’ll bet an advanced Brilliant Pebbles system could handle it. It’s been said that Brilliant Pebbles would’ve completely destroyed Saddam’s Salvo Scud missile attacks during the Gulf War. Unfortunately Slick Willy scrapped the program and it was never re-started.
Unlike back then, we no longer have the kind of industrial base to support a major war effort.
They wouldn’t be there without the technology upgrades so thoughtfully provided to them by B.J. Clinton.
He won't even have to do that. Our missile defenses will first be unmanned, just like the rest of the military, and then dismantled and the pieces sold to China.
A-freaking-men!
2nd, this, "We encourage greater transparency regarding their defense investments and objectives to avoid miscalculation., harkens to a time when there was a little falsehood called 'the missile gap'.
I'm less concerned about a little MAD (Chinese retaining their retaliatory capabilities, Russians, too, if this is the world we still live in despite Dear Leader's bowing & 'reset' overtures...potatoes, too)...
...and more concerned about us being led into another round of scaremongering due to unofficial leaks of 'observed' military tests in China. Far too convenient, if you ask me.
There was a time, of course, when it could be said that the US was destabilizing the world before the US public was aware that our military was testing 'first-strike'-capable breakthrough-technology (stealth).
.02 (continued): The Russians have much more to fear from the Chinese...
If the Chinese really want to nuke us, they can use shipping containers as the delivery system. The devices just need to be timed right. They don’t need missiles at all; they have our ports, rails, and interstates.
Thank you WALMART shoppers !
“...zooms back into the atmosphere at more than ten times the speed of sound—around mach 10 or 7,680 miles per hour. That’s fast enough to enter American airspace before we even react.”
“And while details of the HGV are very slim at this point, analysts believe it works much like the HGV’s developed by other nations including the US, India and Russia. “
So, in other words, our air defense systems were already inadequate to defend us from the Russian version of this delivery system (which they might decide to sell to anybody). Sounds like we should be working on an upgrade, whether or not the Chinese are developing this.
It doesn’t have to. It just has to be faster than the Laser Targeting System.
The sides of our new-fangled Navy ships are not flat for no reason.
Thanks James C. Bennett.
Writer needs to google the definition of "non-plussed". He might as well look up "enervated" while he's at it because he probably gets that one wrong too.
Think about it. If any ICBM is launched more than 200 miles inland, there is no laser in the world than reach it from offshore. Lasers on ships and tactical lasers to target incoming shells have to deal with very short ranges.
BTW, Post #31 was my reply to YOU!
Chinese hypersonic missle brought to you by chinese engineers who got their education in American universities, subsidized by american dollars.
Yes because we give it to them in exchange for cash. We also give them the best education we can, in our best universities.
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