Reference News Network, January 29 report: According to RIA Novosti on January 26, the United States has not made satisfactory progress in the development of hypersonic technology. This wealthiest army in the world has yet to master this long-sought-after technology. However, the Pentagon has not been discouraged and has now launched a new project to advance hypersonic missiles to a more advanced level.

Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. military has once again postponed the deployment of its hypersonic systems. Bloomberg News complained, "Considering that countries such as Russia have already deployed new hypersonic missiles, the lack of similar capabilities in the United States remains a concern. Hypersonic missiles can fly at speeds exceeding 6,120 kilometers per hour at low altitudes, making them harder for traditional air defense systems to intercept."

The Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) program has received over $12 billion in funding. The cost of equipping the first missile battery with missiles is $2.7 billion.

The project was launched in 2018, originally planned for deployment in September 2023, but it was postponed by two years. After failing to complete on time, Americans hope to catch up by 2026. However, last week, they admitted that the missile is still not ready.

Bloomberg News speculated: "The repeated failure to deliver on time makes one think of technical difficulties."

The combat effectiveness of this expensive weapon is still in question. The Pentagon's testing department said last October that it had not conducted a systematic assessment of the missile, and there is a lack of data to evaluate its lethality and battlefield survivability.

The situation with other projects is also not optimistic. The U.S. Air Force is simultaneously developing two weapons - the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) and the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM). The former has experienced multiple failures during testing.

ARRW is developed by Lockheed Martin and is scheduled for deployment in 2027. HACM, jointly developed by Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman, is also scheduled for deployment in the same year.

The Navy's hypersonic missile project is called the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), which is planned to be equipped on submarines and combat ships by 2027.

Recently, the U.S. military added another project: the "Blackbeard" missile from Castellion. This missile is used for high-precision strikes on fixed and mobile targets within 700 to 800 kilometers, with a flight speed of 5 to 6 Mach.

Compared to American defense giants like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, Castellion is different: it was established in 2022.

The missile is positioned as a low-cost mass-produced strike weapon. Developers have suggested using the M270 and M142 "Himars" as launch platforms. The first samples are expected to be delivered to the troops in 2027.

In mid-January, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the headquarters of Castellion and met with engineers working on the "Blackbeard" missile. During this time, the company demonstrated a palletized field gun launcher - a device that can replace the Himars and M270 systems.

However, whether the "Blackbeard" meets the definition of a "hypersonic" missile is still questionable; there is currently no information proving that it can maneuver at hypersonic speeds.

Andrew Kreutz, an executive at Castellion, believes that Americans should be shocked by the current state of hypersonic weapons. He said that Washington lags behind by "at least 20 years." Such a large gap is difficult to close, especially considering that other ambitious projects in the White House also require significant investment. (Translated by He Yingjun)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7600713615984853567/

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