`We are building amazing weapons at a level no one has ever seen before. We have no choice but to do so to deal with external adversaries. We have what I call super
`You heard that Russia has weapons that are 5 times faster, and China is developing missiles that are 5-6 times faster, and we have weapons that are 17 times faster and it was just approved,` the boss said.
Skepticism about Trump’s super missile
Missile carrying C-HGB launched from a test site in Hawaii on March 19.
Trump seemed to be referring to the hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) projects that the US is pursuing, which aims to create warheads with speeds more than 5 times faster than the speed of sound (Mach 5).
This is not the first time the White House boss has used sensational words to describe the features of American missiles.
Kingston Reif, an expert at the US-based Arms Control Association, said that the `17 times faster` speed Trump mentioned could be the estimated speed of the HGV, which could reach the minimum speed
However, Trump’s claim that the American `super missile` is faster than any current missile is incorrect, showing that he seems to be misunderstanding and `boasting` about the HGV’s features.
`Hypersonic weapons fly many times faster than conventional subsonic cruise missiles launched from the air and sea such as the AGM-158 JASSM and Tomahawk. However, HGVs cannot be faster than intercontinental ballistic missiles (
The US Minuteman III ballistic missile has a speed of 23 Mach (23 times faster than sound, equivalent to more than 28,000 km/h).
Hypersonic weapons are not as fast as intercontinental ballistic missile warheads during reentry.
The Avangard hypersonic warhead was put into the launch well by Russia in 2019. Photo: TASS.
Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff John Hyten admitted earlier this year that Washington lags behind Moscow and Beijing in terms of hypersonic weapons, saying that it would take the US many years and spend huge resources to acquire them.
The US Navy in March test-launched a prototype Common Hypersonic Surfing Vehicle (C-HGB) without a warhead, an event considered a significant step forward in Washington’s hypersonic weapons program.
Olivia