By Morgan Lucy-Speidel, '19
Top U.S. defense intelligence official, Army Lt. General Robert Ashley, warned the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia is not the only nation seeking to develop fast and futuristic weapons, but that China has also joined in to challenge America’s extensive knowledge of state-of-the-art military technology (Fox News).
Warnings of these kind of activities by other nations has mainly focused on nations such as Russia and North Korea. However, recent developments have led General Ashley, Director of the U.S. Intelligence Agency, to address the greatest threats posed against the western world (Fox News).
China is developing a wide range of weapons. Most concerning to General Ashley is the progress that the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has made on long-range, land, and anti-ship cruise missiles that are capable of reaching supersonic speeds. The nation is also in the works of developing a bomber which could give Beijing nuclear power based out of land, air, and sea. Furthermore, hypersonic glide vehicles are also in development. These vehicles, intended to transport a devastating payload, are aimed to counter ballistic missile defense systems due to their incredible speed and maneuverability. Gen. Ashley warned that the Chinese military is developing its ability to “dissuade, deter, or defeat” any sort of interference from a third party nation (News.com) .
Russia is also in the midst of developing hypersonic weapons including the glide vehicles and hypersonic missiles. As of last week, President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is capable of producing these new weapons and that they cannot be intercepted by traditional ballistic missile defense systems. The U.S. Navy announced a successful hypersonic prototype missile test that took place in November of last year. However, putting such a weapon into practice for American forces is still considered years away. In Putin’s speech last week, he looked to change the narrative surrounding hypersonic weapons by mentioning that Russian forces have these weapons systems and are in trial deployment or final testing stages (The Verge).
Such missiles being pursued by the United States, Russia, and China is obvious reason for concern. With weapons like these at the disposal of countries that we have unstable relations with, the U.S. should consider stepping up preventive measures. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an American agency, asked the Trump administration for additional hypersonic funding. Funding for such initiatives in 2017 was $85.8 million which increased by 27% to $108.6 million this year (The Verge). This will not completely nullify the problem, however it is a step in the right direction.
Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/03/06/intel-official-russia-china-seek-fast-futuristic-weapons.html
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/6/17081590/hypersonic-missiles-long-range-arms-race-putin-speech