Missile without warhead
According to a military official, the United States has released a version of Lockheed Martin’s Hypersonic Air Breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). The launch was from a B-52 bomber from the west coast. First, the rocket was dissipated by the rocket engine, and then the airjet engine accelerated to Mach 5 and above.
The source of the TV channel said that the rocket flew more than 65,000 feet (more than 19 km) and broke over 300 miles (480 km). However, even at the lower end of the hypersonic range – about 3800 miles per hour (more than 6000 km per hour) – a 300-mile flight takes less than 5 minutes.
The hypersonic missile of the HAWC concept did not carry a warhead, but instead used its kinetic energy to destroy the target.
In the article, it is noted that the United States tries not to take steps or make statements that may unnecessarily escalate the tension between Washington and Moscow. That’s why the US on Friday canceled the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test to avoid misinterpretation by Russia.
The Americans are also a little cautious about the weapons and equipment they send to Ukraine. For example, the United States opposed the deployment of warplanes in Ukraine, fearing that the Kremlin might interpret such a move as the US and NATO’s entry into the conflict in Ukraine. For the same reasons, the authorities concealed the successful test of a hypersonic missile.
“He’s Almost Unstoppable”
According to the source, the test came a few days after Russia announced that it was using its own Kinzhal hypersonic missile in Ukraine.
“On March 18, the Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aerobalistic missiles destroyed a large underground missile depot and aviation munitions in the village of Delyatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of the Ukrainian troops,” said Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Defense. said at a briefing.
He added that Russia will continue to use Kinzhal in Ukraine. Later, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Kinzhal hypersonic missile attacked an arsenal in Ukraine from a distance of more than 1000 kilometers.
“I want to draw your attention to the fact that the use of the hypersonic aerobalistic missile of the Kinzhal complex is carried out at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. “The flight time of the hypersonic missile was less than 10 minutes,” he said.
“Due to the hypersonic speed and ultra-high kinetic energy, the warhead of the Kinzhal missile destroyed a protected underground arsenal located in a mountainous area, built during the Soviet era to store special ammunition and missiles,” he said.
Air-based Kinzhal missiles are the newest type of strategic weapon. During the mission, they can maneuver along the trajectory, so they are extremely difficult to intercept. According to officials, intercepting a target flying at Mach 10 and maneuvering along a trajectory is an almost impossible task for today’s air defense and missile defense systems.
But US officials later downplayed Russia’s use of hypersonic missiles. As such, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not consider the use of the “Dagger” to be “some kind of landmark”. A few days later, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said it was “difficult to see what exactly justifies” the launch, as it targets fixed storage.
“This is a pretty serious blow to a target like this,” Kirby said.
US President Joe Biden also commented on the first combat use of the Dagger, noting the vulnerability of a hypersonic missile.
“It has the same warhead as other missiles. “There’s no big difference, except it’s almost impossible to stop it,” he said.