PrairiePundit

  The Federalist Wire: ... Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a bold challenge to the United States on Thursday, proposing a direct “duel” between the Kremlin’s new hypersonic ballistic missile and America’s defense systems. Speaking at his annual end-of-year press conference, Putin ridiculed Western skepticism over the capabilities of the Oreshnik missile. The weapon, which Russia claims can carry nuclear payloads, had faced doubts about its lethality following limited deployment in Ukraine. Putin suggested the United States choose a target to defend and test whether its military technology could stop the Oreshnik in action. “We’re ready for such an experiment,” he declared, asserting that Western defense systems “stand no chance.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed alarm over Putin’s challenge, calling it reckless. “Do you think he is a sane person?” Zelensky asked reporters during a news conference later that day. He described the idea of two superpowers engag...

 Reuters: Japan and the U.S. will agree this week to jointly develop an interceptor missile to counter hypersonic warheads being developed by China, Russia and North Korea, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday. The agreement on interceptors to target weapons designed to evade existing ballistic missile defences is expected when President Joe Biden meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the U.S. on Friday, the report said, without giving any source for the information. ... Unlike typical ballistic warheads, which fly on predictable trajectories as they fall from space to their targets, hypersonic projectiles can change course, making them more difficult to target. ... I think those missiles also fly at a greater speed than conventional missiles.   I suspect the US also has hypersonic missiles.

 The Conversation: China’s newest hypersonic missile, the DF-27 , can fly as far as Hawaii, penetrate U.S. missile defenses and pose a particular threat to U.S. aircraft carriers , according to news reports of an assessment from the Pentagon . Chinese researchers claimed in a May 2023 research journal report that the country’s hypersonic missiles could destroy a U.S. carrier group “with certainty .” This capability threatens to sideline U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the Pacific, potentially shifting the strategic balance of power and leaving the U.S. with limited options for assisting Taiwan in the event China invades. This shift in the balance of power highlights how the next-generation hypersonic missiles that China, Russia and the U.S. are developing pose a significant threat to global security. I am an aerospace engineer who studies space and defense systems, including hypersonic systems. These new systems pose an important challenge due to their maneuverability all along t...

 AP: ... “It will be an impressive destroyer that will absolutely launch us into the next generation of ships,” said Stevens, director of ground assembly at Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works. The stakes are high when it comes to a replacement for the backbone of the fleet as the Navy faces a growing threat from China, whose numerical advantage becomes greater each year. ... All of that warfighting gear won't come cheap. The average cost of each new vessel, dubbed DDG(X), is projected to be a third more expensive than Burkes, the latest of which cost of about $2.2 billion apiece, according to the Congressional Budget Office. ... “Rather than tying the success of DDG(X) to developmental technology, we’re using known, mature technologies on a flexible platform that can be upgraded for decades to come, as the technology of tomorrow is matured and demonstrated,” said Jamie Koehler, a Navy spokesperson. ... The Navy originally wanted to replace Burkes with stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyer...

 Washington Examiner: Top Russian hypersonics researcher arrested on 'high treason' charge ...   Shiplyuk specializes in hypersonic technology research, according to TASS, having authored or contributed to more than 90 publications related to hypersonic technology and other engineering subjects, according to a ResearchGate   tally . He and Maslov were based in Novosibirsk, Russia. They shared that city with a third Russian scientist, Dmitry Kolker, who was taken from a hospital where he was receiving cancer treatment and then died in custody. RUSSIA WAGES A PARANOID WAR ON HYPERSONICS SCIENTISTS “The FSB murdered my father,” the late scientist’s son, Maksim Kolker,  wrote  on social media last month, referring to the  KGB successor agency . “Fully aware of the condition he was in, they dragged him from the hospital. ... They didn’t even allow him to say goodbye to his family. Kolker, who led a quantum optics laboratory, was accused of collaborating with Chi...

 AP: The U.S. will spend $1.3 billion to develop advanced satellites that will be able to better track hypersonic missile threats, the Pentagon said Monday, announcing two new contracts that will put the detection and tracking systems in orbit by 2025. Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency, said the contracts will provide 28 satellites, as the U.S. moves to greatly expand and enhance its ability to counter increasing threats from Russia and China. Both countries have been making strides in their development of hypersonic missiles, which are more difficult to track and shoot down because they maneuver more in flight than conventional weapons that travel in predictable paths. Last year China tested what U.S. officials said was a hypersonic missile , and Russia has used the weapons in strikes during the war in Ukraine . “Russia and China have been developing and testing hypersonic glide vehicles — these advanced missiles that are extremely maneuverable,” Tournear to...

 Reuters: The United States successfully tested two Lockheed Martin Corp hypersonic missiles recently, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, amid growing concerns Russia and China have had more success developing their own hypersonic weapons. The U.S. Air Force confirmed it successfully tested its Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster on Tuesday off the California coast. Reuters reported the ARRW test earlier on Wednesday in which the booster was carried aloft under the wing of a B-52H before it was launched. In previous tests, the weapon did not detach from the plane. "This second successful test demonstrates ARRW's ability to reach and withstand operational hypersonic speeds, collect crucial data for use in further flight tests, and validate safe separation from the aircraft," Lockheed said in a statement. Air Force Brigadier General Heath Collins, program executive officer, Armament Directorate, said, "We have now completed our booster test series and are re...

 Civis Americanus: Any person or organization that supports the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement is a  dupe, stooge, or enabler  for Hamas, even if the individual or organization does not condone terrorism. The Russian Federation's threats to use nuclear weapons for purposes other than self-defense, along with Communist China's threats to start a war with Taiwan, show also that BDS supporters are de facto foreign and domestic enemies of the United States. This is because the United States and Israel may well rely on their mutually developed missile defense programs for their very survival, and anything that undermines our relationship with Israel is therefore an existential threat to our own nation, NATO, and our Pacific allies as well as Israel. It is important to mention up front, however, that de facto is not the same as de jure (by law). It is not a crime to be a de facto enemy of the United States. Advocacy of BDS, and even advocacy ...

 Fox News: The United States Air Force conducted the successful launch of a hypersonic weapon off the coast of California this weekend, which flew at five times the speed of sound, a spokesperson said. "Our highly-skilled team made history on this first air-launched hypersonic weapon," said Lt. Col. Michael Jungquist, the director of the 419th Flight Test Squadron and the Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force, who executed the test. "We're doing everything we can to get this game-changing weapon to the warfighter as soon as possible," Jungquist added. Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, Program Executive Officer for Weapons, celebrated the "major accomplishment" after a B-52H Stratofortress released an AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) at Edwards Air Force Base, in California, Saturday. "This was a major accomplishment by the ARRW team, for the weapons enterprise, and our Air Force ," Collins said. "The team's tenacity, e...

 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...

  Washington Examiner: Pentagon puts added emphasis on defense systems against hypersonic missiles ...   Even though the  Pentagon  has honed in on offensive hypersonic technology, as opposed to primarily focusing on defensive measures up until this point, the United States is still losing the hypersonic race against foreign powers, including  China  and  Russia . ... Unless they have some super-secret program, they continue to be behind in this arms race.  They have been way too focused on wokeness of late instead of the technology needed to win wars.

  Legal Insurrection: Russia Announces ‘Successful’ Test of Hypersonic Zircon Missile, Launched from Warship   Russia also starts full-scale production Zircon hypersonic missiles systems.   While America’s military leadership has focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity, Russia took advantage of a special opportunity to include some diversity in its weapons options. Its military officials have announced a ‘successful’ test of the  6,670mph hypersonic Zircon missile . ... Russian technology has been lagging in recent years.  Their stealth fighters were not successful.  Whether his missile will work under mass production is not a sure thing.  One thing should be clear by now.  Diversity, equity, and inclusion have not made the US safer from enemy threats.  It is an unneeded distraction from the military mission.

  Washington Examiner: C hina scored a half-win this summer with its somewhat successful test of a hypersonic glide vehicle. First  reported  by the  Financial Times , the test took place in July or August. It involved a hypersonic, vehicle-laden, intercontinental ballistic missile traveling thousands of miles before the vehicle launched. The vehicle then operated successfully but missed its intended target by around 40 kilometers.  China  denies the test was military-related, instead claiming it focused on civilian space exploration. A foreign ministry spokesman suggested the test was of "great significance for reducing the cost of spacecraft use." That's a lie. Just as Iran's civilian satellite program is a cover for its ballistic missile research, China's space exploration program is often used to conceal hypersonic glide vehicle research. This research has a clear purpose and, as evinced by this test, the prospect of profitable outcome. Namely, China's ...