Nuclear hypersonic missiles from space: US faces its biggest threat from Chinese, Russian FOBS
A recent assessment by the US Defense Intelligence Agency paints a grim picture for the Americans. The threats from China and Russia is increasing with the former, too, now in a position to hit target all across the US mainland. The large variety of missiles with China and Russia make defending the US mainland a herculean task.
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China, Russia missile stockpile makes US jittery
Hypersonic missiles
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America's biggest fear of a nuclear-tipped missile hitting it from space is coming true and the Chinese are on course to militarily push it into a corner in the next 10 years. The world's primary military power since the collapse of the USSR in 1991 is now faced with the dreaded prospect of a lethal new weapon in China's arsenal called the fractional orbital bombardment system ( FOBS ). The missile threats to the US is going to expand both in scale, modern technology and sophistication in the next 10 years, according to a recent US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment.While, Russia, the primary military rival of the US since the 1990s is building on its missile strength, it's China which is taking rapid strides in developing a wide range of delivery systems to exploit gaps in current American ballistic missile defenses. And, the US forces are keeping a wary eyeAlthough the FOBS technology is not a new one as it was developed decades back in the 1960s by the erstwhile USSR and is known to exist with the current Russian armed forces, the rapid pace of development and the projected deployment by China is giving sleepless nights to the United States forces.According to the DIA assessment titled 'Golden Dome for America: Current and Future Missile Threats to the U.S. Homeland', the picture is not so rosy for the American military as it gears up to face not only a belligerent China but also the growing arsenal of Russia despite the war with Ukraine, which has been going on for over three years now.In a chart prepared by the DIA, the missile threats have been categorized under six categories which are as follows: intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), two types of hypersonic weapons, land attack cruise missiles (LACM), and fractional orbital bombardment systems (FOBS). All these systems have nuclear variants.Each of the above-mentioned missiles have the capability to inflict unimaginable damage to the US, but the most lethal is the FOBS, which is essentially an ICBM that flies in a low-earth altitude orbit before reentering to strike its target. A FOBS takes much shorter flight time to reach its target if flying the same direction as traditional ICBMs. The FOBS can also be programmed to fly over the South Pole to avoid early warning systems and missile defenses and strike its target before completing a full orbit.While neither Russia not China have operationalised FOBS, the DIA assessment projects that the former can deploy 12 such missiles by 2035 while China will have a bigger arsenal with 60 in service.China and Russia have several nuclear-capable ICBMs which can hit any target in the US. While China currently has 400 ICBMs, many of them having Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) versions, the number is projected to go over 700 by 2035. On the other hand, Russia is likely to increase the number of ICBMs in its forces to 400 plus from the 350 that it currently has.Two other countries - North Korea and Iran - are also building missiles which can hit targets on US mainland. Iran also has an advanced space program and can develop and deploy ICBMs by 2035 if its government decides to go ahead with military use of the capability and technology.China's SLBMs could rise to 132 from the current 72 10 years down the line while Russia is likely to have the same number as it has now - 192.The two countries are also in the fast lane to develop and deploy boosted hypersonic weapons which can fly at speeds over Mach 5+. Russia has already used some of these in the ongoing war against Ukraine while China also also operational hypersonic missiles.There are two types of hypersonic missiles - aeroballistic and Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) - and both can be nuclear armed.Aeroballistic missiles can be fired from land, air or sea, they use aerodynamic maneuvers with phases of ballistic loft to extend range. HGVs are highly maneuverable sporting an aerodynamic built body and are mounted on ballistic missile. They are programmed to fly at altitudes of 15-50 km with sustained hypersonic glide.While Russia has demonstrated the capability to use both aeroballistic missiles and HGVs to target the US mainland, China is most likely armed with the latter which can hit targets in Alaska.China currently possess 600 such missiles with the number reaching 4,000 by 2025 while Russia will see its current arsenal of 200-300 go up to 1,000 during the same time period.When it come to LACMs, the Russian have enough to take out targets in the US while the Chinese are rapidly expanding their capability and range with its current missiles only able to hit Alaska, Hawaii, and the American west coast. Russia is projected to increase its LACM stockpile to 5,000 in the next 10 years from the current 300-600. China will also reach the figure of 5,000 by mid-2030s from the 1,000 it has now.
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