Pentagon Recognizes Russia’s Superiority In Hypersonic Weapons

TSIRKON - RUSSIA’S HYPERSONIC MISSILE

MOSCOW – Due to the development of Russian hypersonic weapon technologies, an imbalance in combat capabilities that the US must overcome has emerged, says the Pentagon’s official representative.

“While the United States has been the world leader in hypersonic system research for many decades, we did not choose to weaponize hypersonic technology,” Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carver recently told Newsweek in a statement. “Those who sought to be our adversaries have decided to weaponize it, which has created a warfighting asymmetry that we must address.”

“The Department of Defense leads in hypersonic research, and fielding hypersonic weapons is our highest technical research and engineering priority,” he added. “We continue to engage in that work with the intent to leave no doubt about our ability to maintain future battlefield dominance across all warfighting domains.”

In Carver’s view, the deployment of hypersonic weapons is the highest research and technical priority in the United States.

Hypersonic Weapons

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the serial fabrication of the Avangard strategic hypersonic missile with glider warhead and the successful testing of the Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile.

According to the Russian leader, the task of the new Russian weapons is solely to ensure security against the growing threats to the country, noting that Moscow will continue to develop its defense capabilities.

To date, Russia is the only country in the world to officially announce that it has hypersonic weapons.

In 2018, the US Army began work on the ARRW air-to-ground missile. In parallel, the US is creating a long range hypersonic missile for the Air Force. In total, the creation of HCSW will cost the US budget nearly $1.5 billion.

The US and Russia possess by far the most nuclear weapons of any country in the world. Their stockpiles, however, are restricted by a third nonproliferation agreement, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The treaty was set to expire in 2021, but both sides have so far failed to come to the table, potentially paving the way for the first untethered nuclear production in generations, Newsweek concluded.

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