Can we deploy hypersonic weapons before China and Russia outgun us? It’s up to Congress
BY SETH CROPSEY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 01/25/23 9:30 AM ET
Russia allegedly deployed hypersonic weapons for the first time at tactical scale earlier this month. It dispatched the Admiral Gorshkov, one of Russia’s newest warships, to the Atlantic on a long-distance cruise, armed, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, with Zirkon cruise missiles. Meanwhile, on Dec. 9, the U.S. reached a major hypersonic milestone, conducting a successful test of the AGM-183 ARRW air-launched hypersonic missile. And in late 2021, China launched a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle that circumnavigated the globe before engaging a target.
Each hypersonic advance demonstrates the need for the U.S. to accelerate testing, production and rapid deployment of hypersonic weapons to front-line forces.
Doing so will require congressional support to “go-fast” on all hypersonic platforms and, equally relevant, a commitment for a diverse hypersonic arsenal to deter or defeat our adversaries.
Hypersonic weapons travel faster than Mach 5 — that is, five-plus times the speed of sound. Traditional cruise missiles range between Mach 0.75 (around 560 miles per hour) and Mach 3 (around 2,000 mph). By comparison, a hypersonic weapon moves at between 4,000 to over 10,000 mph. Its speed cuts down early warning time and helps counter air defenses; it can fly fast enough and, depending upon the variant, shift flight paths rapidly enough to overwhelm traditional tracking systems.
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3829686-can-we-deploy-hypersonic-weapons-before-china-and-russia-outgun-us-its-up-to-congress/
