According to US media reports on June 25, two giants in the US defense field, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, will develop an intercept hypersonic weapon for the US Missile Defense Agency new interceptor missile. In fact, the Pentagon spent more than 60 million US dollars last year, awarding three research and development contracts to the above two companies and Lockheed Martin to develop missiles that can protect the United States from hypersonic weapons attacks.
Why has the US military accelerated this project in the past two years? Are you stimulated by the dominant positions of China and Russia in this field?
Data map: "Falcon Heavy" rocket launch screen (Global Network)
html More than 120 years ago, the United States proposed the concept of "covering the earth in one hour".
Assuming that an aircraft can reach 20 times the speed of sound, it can reach any place in the world within an hour. This has led to a series of ideas such as "hypersonic weapons". The so-called hypersonic weapons are those that fly at a speed exceeding 5 Mach's weapons.
In 2003, the United States launched the "Falcon" program. The goal of the program was ultimately to build a boost-glide hypersonic aircraft with an estimated maximum speed of 20 times the speed of sound. However, the project suffered failures for two consecutive years and was eventually stopped.
CM-401 missile is a hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile
Compared with the slow progress of the United States, the progress made by China and Russia in this area in recent years can be called "rapid".
In 2018, at the 12th Zhuhai International Air Show , my country's CM-401 hypersonic anti-ship missile made its debut. It can maintain hypersonic speed after launch, with a maximum speed exceeding Mach 6, and has high damage power and penetration capabilities. Strong characteristics.
In 2021, at the 13th Zhuhai International Air Show, CM-401 was displayed as a foreign trade weapon. China was also the first country to display the hypersonic missile as a foreign trade weapon.
Although Russia started late, it is better than the United States in terms of results and equipment speed. For example, the "Dagger" missile launched from the air can reach a speed of 15 times the speed of sound, the "Pioneer" missile launched from the land can reach a speed of 20 times the speed of sound, and the "Zircon" missile launched from the sea can also reach a speed of more than 7 times the speed of sound. .
Russia once warned the United States that the United States' global ballistic missile defense system is just a layer of "window paper" in front of hypersonic missiles.
Screenshot of the British " Financial Times " report
Why is the United States, the first country to propose this concept, the slowest to develop it?
Aerospace technology expert Huang Zhicheng analyzed that for a period of time, the United States, due to some strategic misjudgments, did not pay enough attention to the research and development of this type of weapon, and insufficient funds were invested. Research on this project in colleges and universities has also gradually stopped, which makes it appear that Some "can't keep up".
Seeing China and Russia becoming stronger, some people began to feel restless.
In October 2021, the British "Financial Times" repeatedly hyped that China had conducted "hysonic missile tests" and also said that the new weapons capabilities demonstrated by China would "shock" the U.S. Pentagon and intelligence agencies.
Military observer Cao Weidong once analyzed during a connection with the Central Military Commission that Western countries are so nervous because hypersonic missiles have two very strong capabilities, one is precision guidance capability, and the other is effective penetration capability, which scares the West.
Currently, only the United States has a global ballistic missile defense system, but this defense system cannot protect against hypersonic missiles. Biden has also publicly expressed concerns about China's hypersonic missiles.
B-52H bomber (Source: CNN)
Since you are worried, you need to take action to relieve this emotion. On May 17, 2022, according to Global Network reports, a U.S. bomber launched an "air-launched rapid response weapon (ARRW)", flying at a speed of five times the speed of sound.
The project has failed three previous attempts.The Air Force weapons program executive said that this success is a "huge achievement" for the U.S. Air Force, development companies and project teams.
Huang Zhicheng pointed out that the success of this test launch has increased the confidence of the US military, but it will take a long time for this type of weapons and equipment to be officially put into use.
At present, there is still some gap between the United States and China and Russia in terms of hypersonic weapons. However, in recent years, the United States is investing heavily in research in this area and vigorously developing defense systems for hypersonic weapons. In the past, the weapons and equipment of the United States were often more advanced than other countries, which shows that the United States does have great strength.
Faced with such a country, we should also be prepared for danger in times of peace and keep moving forward without relaxing. Never underestimate the enemy.
