The U.S. military announced on Tuesday (April 5) that it had completed a test of a new hypersonic missile, according to AFP. The Pentagon’s move is to catch up with, or even surpass, China and Russia’s progress in cutting-edge strategic weapons technology.
Hypersonic missiles pose a potential threat to the global military balance, delivering nuclear weapons to their targets with precision and speed too fast to intercept. According to CNN, the Pentagon’s hypersonic missile test was completed in mid-March, but it kept a low profile to avoid escalating tensions with Russia.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said it recently completed a free-flight test of an aircraft-launched hypersonic missile that remained above Mach 5, or more than five times the speed of sound (at least 3,800 miles per hour). , or 6100 kilometers per hour). DARPA said the missile flew to an altitude of more than 65,000 feet (189,812 meters) and flew over 300 nautical miles.
It was the second successful test of a hypersonic missile under the agency’s Air-Hypersonic Concept Weapon (HAWC) program, and the first test launch of a version of the aerospace arm’s Lockheed Martin system. The system and configuration of the missile tested this time are different from those in the first test last September.
Andrew Knoedler, program manager for the HAWC program, said in a statement: “This flight test of the Lockheed Martin system version of HAWC successfully demonstrated a second (system) design that will enable the Our warfighters can more competitively select the right capabilities to dominate the battlefield.”
The sword points to China
As the U.S. tests hypersonic missiles, the U.S., U.K. and Australia’s Tripartite Security Partnership (AUKUS) also issued a joint statement on the 5th saying that the three parties will deepen cooperation to jointly develop hypersonic weapons.
The three countries will strengthen cooperation in multiple areas, including hypersonic weapons, as part of their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to statements by U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“Today we are also committed to new tripartite cooperation in hypersonic and anti-hypersonic and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as expanding information sharing and deepening cooperation in defense innovation,” the leaders of the three countries said in a statement.
Agence France-Presse pointed out that the Pentagon is under pressure because China has conducted hundreds of tests of hypersonic missiles, far more than the US military, which has conducted fewer than a dozen tests.
The Financial Times noted that the U.S., U.K. and Australia “expanded the trilateral security pact in response to the rapid expansion of China’s military.” The three countries’ push to cooperate in the development of hypersonic weapons signifies that the three countries will strengthen their partnership in response to China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific region. .
In 2021, the US and the UK signed an agreement to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
A few days ago, Admiral John Aquilino, commander of Indo-Pacific Command, and General James Dickinson, commander of Space Command, also said in an interview with the British “Financial Times” that the United States and Australia are strengthening space and cyber cooperation, in part because of growing concerns about Chinese hypersonic weapons.
The system China tested last year makes it possible to launch hypersonic weapons over Antarctica. For the United States, this creates new problems for a missile defense system designed to counter missile threats from over the Arctic.
The United States, Russia, China and North Korea have all tested hypersonic missiles. France, Germany, Australia, India and Japan have been working on hypersonic weapons. Iran, Israel and South Korea have also conducted basic research on the technology.
(AFP, Financial Times, CNN)
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