China is 10 times ahead of the United States in the development and testing of hypersonic weapons. This was stated by the head of the North American Joint Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), General Glen Vanhurk, on Tuesday, March 1.
According to the NORAD spokesman, China is committed to strengthening its military capabilities and has already made significant progress.
“Over the past year, they have done 10 times more in the field of hypersonic development and testing than we have,” Vanherk explained, speaking at a hearing in the US House Armed Services Committee.
The general also expressed hope that the Pentagon would be provided with the necessary resources to develop new types of weapons and countermeasures.
Earlier, on January 19, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall assessed the effectiveness of spending on the development of the hypersonic industry. In his opinion, due to the high cost of such projects, they need preliminary discussion.
On the eve of the US armed forces again failed during the test of the AGM-183A hypersonic missile. During the flight of the B-52H, the missile did not leave the wing of the aircraft. Previous tests of the hypersonic missile took place in July and April.
The failed results of tests of US military equipment are especially contrasted against the background of tests of such types of weapons in Russia, China and North Korea, experts noted at the time.
On Nov. 20, Deputy Commander of the Space Forces, Lieutenant General David Thompson, pointed out that the US “needs to catch up very quickly” in hypersonic weapons to match Beijing and Moscow. He added that although the Pentagon claims to advance the development of hypersonic missiles, the army does not plan to release them until 2024. The Navy intends to put its own version of the missile on a destroyer in 2025 and on Virginia-class submarines in 2028.
At the end of October, the US Army conducted bench fire tests of the first stage of a solid-propellant engine for a hypersonic missile that will be used by the US Navy and ground forces.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
