war has always been a showcase for new weapons and equipment, and this year's Russia-Ukraine war is no exception. If we want to say that the most noteworthy new weapons and equipment on the Russia-Ukraine battlefield is none other than Russia's hypersonic missile . According to news from the Russian military, during the Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian Aerospace Forces repeatedly launched hypersonic missiles to bomb important military targets of the Ukrainian military. The actual combat effects of the hypersonic missiles made the top brass of the Russian military very happy. satisfy.
According to Russian media reports, with limited military expenditures, the Russian military has listed hypersonic missiles as a key development project, and its status is equivalent to nuclear weapons . With the support of funds and policies, the Russian military’s hypersonic missile technology is currently unique in the world. In addition to the "Dagger" hypersonic missile that debuted in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian army also has two hypersonic missiles, the "Pioneer" and the "Zircon". The former has entered combat readiness, and the latter is further away from service. Coming closer.
Military experts said that hypersonic missiles allow the Russian army to make up for the huge gap in conventional military strength with the US military to a certain extent, and are of great significance to maintaining the balance of Russia and the US strategic posture. At present, hypersonic missiles are invincible. A number of anti-missile systems, including the American THAAD, are still unable to effectively intercept hypersonic missiles. In the view of military experts, hypersonic missiles will become the “ trump card ” that major military powers are competing to develop in the future.
However, what is more surprising is that Russia’s hypersonic missiles have now been put into actual combat, while the United States has continued to falter in the research and development of hypersonic missiles. According to US media reports, at the end of last month, the Pentagon organized a flight test of a conventional rapid strike hypersonic missile prototype in Hawaii. However, the entire test event ended in failure because the hypersonic missile engine malfunctioned after ignition. According to reports, this is the second time the project has suffered a failure.
In October last year, during its first flight test, the hypersonic missile failed to complete its launch due to a booster failure. The continuous failures made the Pentagon very angry and refused to provide more details of the test to the outside world. According to the Pentagon's vision, the U.S. armed forces must equip a functional hypersonic missile by 2020. However, judging from the current situation, this goal cannot be achieved in a short time.
As for the reason why the US hypersonic missile project is not progressing smoothly, analysts said that on the one hand, it may be that the research and development direction is wrong. On the other hand, it may be that the Pentagon's pursuit of ultimate performance has led to a sharp increase in technical difficulty. U.S. media reported that the Pentagon is currently under great pressure as the two major competitors, China and Russia, have made remarkable achievements in the field of hypersonic missiles.
