Biden blocked disclosure of successful hypersonic missile test

 Stephen Green:

With the U.S. seemingly years behind Russia’s and China’s hypersonic missile programs, the Biden Administration kept under wraps a successful test launch last month off a B-52 heavy bomber.

“The test came days after Russia says it used its own hypersonic missile during its invasion of Ukraine,” CNN noted, “claiming it targeted an ammunition warehouse in western Ukraine.”

Deterrence, how does it work?

Deterrence is supposed to work by making sure the other guy knows your defenses are at least as good as his, if not better.

Instead, Presidentish Joe Biden kept the mid-March test a secret — on the eve of his visit to Europe to talk with Western leaders about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

At least, that’s what one “defense official familiar with the matter” told CNN.

Since it was a stupid and self-defeating decision on the part of Biden (or his handlers), I’m inclined to believe the anonymous defense official.

Meanwhile, Russia released footage before Biden’s trip, showing a successful test of their Zircon hypersonic missile that “could hit London in five minutes” if launched from western Russia.

Biden would have gone to Europe with a stronger hand had Russia (and our allies) been made aware of how far along we were in developing a similar ability to hit Moscow with so little warning.

Hypersonic missiles travel at super-high speeds — Mach 5 or faster — making them extremely destructive and difficult or even impossible to shoot down with existing missile-defense systems. They can be equipped with conventional or nuclear warheads.

A hypersonic can provide the speed, range, and accuracy of a nuclear-tipped ICBM, but without necessarily escalating a conflict into global thermonuclear war.

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There is more.

The Biden administration apparently did not disclose the successful test to Congress either.  When Secretary Austin was being questioned about the US being behind on hypersonic weapons he acted surprised at the question.  Both Russia and China have successfully tested the weapons and Russia did recently use one for some reason in Ukraine.