David Axe
New types of missiles flying faster than five times the speed of sound pose a unique threat to the global balance of power, and the leading military powers should work together to stop their spread.
That's the conclusion of a new study from the RAND Corporation, a California think tank that works closely with the US military.
"Hypersonic missiles ... are a new class of threat because they are capable both of maneuvering and of flying faster than 5,000 kilometers per hour," RAND cautioned. "These features enable such missiles to penetrate most missile defenses and to further compress the timelines for a response by a nation under attack."
The think tank noted that the United States, Russia, and China are all separately developing these speedy munitions, including air-launched hypersonic cruise missiles and "glide vehicles" that are typically boosted to hypersonic speeds by ground-launched rockets.
In 2012, China began using the world's biggest wind tunnel to test hypersonic vehicle designs. The following year, Russia revived long-dormant fast-munitions programs. The Pentagon has tested several prototype weapons capable of traveling Mach 5 or faster. In July 2017, the US Air Force formally asked the defense industry to propose designs for a new hypersonic missile.
Now other regions and countries—RAND cited Europe, Japan, Australia, and India—have begun to tinker with key hypersonic technologies, which include special engines and exotic, heat-absorbing materials. "Proliferation could cross multiple borders if hypersonic technology is offered on world markets," the report stated.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bjvb4w/beware-hypersonic-missiles
