Submission + - The real military game-changer: Hypersonic weapons 101 (lowyinterpreter.org)
An anonymous reader writes: Last month news reports hit that China was developing advanced hypersonic weapons, or weapons that "that can sustain flight in the Mach 5 to 10 speed range for a significant distance and period of time measured in minutes." In an interview with leading defense expert, it seems clear that "if the Chinese tests are as far along as they seem to be from press reports, it might be possible to see operational systems with this technology in the field within a decade."
Will the the U.S. be able to defend against such weapons? Maybe so: "Options for bolstering defences include the electromagnetic railgun and directed-energy technologies currently under development. Other possible countermeasures include using jammers or other electronic countermeasure techniques to deny targeting data to the attacker or to confuse the hypersonic glide vehicle's own sensors as it attempts to hit its target. Disrupting communication links between sensing, command-and-control, and missile units is another possible means of decreasing the effectiveness of such weapons."
Thankfully the US is developing such weapons, although China maybe able to deploy such technology first.
Will the the U.S. be able to defend against such weapons? Maybe so: "Options for bolstering defences include the electromagnetic railgun and directed-energy technologies currently under development. Other possible countermeasures include using jammers or other electronic countermeasure techniques to deny targeting data to the attacker or to confuse the hypersonic glide vehicle's own sensors as it attempts to hit its target. Disrupting communication links between sensing, command-and-control, and missile units is another possible means of decreasing the effectiveness of such weapons."
Thankfully the US is developing such weapons, although China maybe able to deploy such technology first.
