James McConville, chief of staff of the US Army, does not believe that the deployment of hypersonic weapons by Russia significantly changes the balance of power in the world.

“I did not see that with this system they (RF. - RT ) actually hit any target. I know the state of our hypersonic technologies, I am pleased with the direction in which and with what speed they are developing, so I still don’t think that this dramatically changes the situation, ”the general said during a speech to the Atlantic Council.

Technological gap

It should be noted that at the end of last year, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper noted that the US has to catch up with Russia in developing hypersonic weapons. At the same time, he clarified that the backlog was allegedly due to the fact that the US itself “took a break” in this area.

“We suspended the development of this technology several years ago, when our advantage in this area was obvious. Now we are forced to catch up, so the Ministry of Defense uses all available financial resources to ensure our advantage in the field of hypersonic weapons, ”said Esper, speaking at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum.

According to him, Moscow allegedly “is developing various types of weapons, including strategic weapons unregulated by the existing START III treaty,” and has “capabilities in the field of medium-range missiles that the United States does not have.”

Recall, American officials have repeatedly stated that Russia lags behind in the field of controlled hypersound.

So, in August 2019, John Bolton, who then held the post of adviser to the US president on national security, accused Russia of stealing American hypersonic technologies. A Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Carver, later said that because of the desire of US rivals to use hypersonic technology for military purposes, "an asymmetry has arisen in terms of combat capabilities."

According to experts, in order to reduce the backlog from Russia, the United States will need at least five years, but during this time, the Russian Federation will also move forward. As a correspondent at the Academy of Military Sciences, political scientist Sergei Sudakov, said in a conversation with RT, the United States at the moment "does not have enough potential to create the same weapons that Russia already has."

“Therefore, it is important for them to demonstrate that their rivals did not come up with anything good. And it is necessary to fill the fog as much as possible and criticize all Russian innovations. But, of course, the military of the whole world unequivocally recognized Russia's breakthrough technologies and the vector that it sets, ”the expert explained.

  • Launch of the latest Vanguard rocket
  • RIA News
  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Unique weapon

Recall that at the end of 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Federation is ahead of other states in terms of the development of advanced weapons, being the only country operating hypersonic weapons.

According to him, the situation in the new and recent history of the country is unique: "They are catching up with us."

“Not a single country today has hypersonic weapons at all, and continental-range hypersonic weapons — all the more so,” the head of state said at a meeting of the board of the Defense Ministry on December 24.

Vladimir Putin noted that the troops had already received the "Dagger" and "Relight" complexes, and the equipment with the "Vanguard" began. Also, according to the plan, work is underway on the Sarmat, Zircon and Petrel missiles, the president added.

As early as December 27, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to the President on the alert for the first missile regiment, armed with the latest strategic missile system with the Avangard hypersonic planning winged warhead.

The Vanguard, which uses a ground-based ballistic missile to launch, is capable of speeds of 27 Machs.

Shock advantage

One of the most closed projects among the Russian line of hypersonic weapons is the 3M22 Zircon sea-based anti-ship missile. Vladimir Putin first revealed its characteristics by delivering a message to the Federal Assembly in 2019. Then the head of state said that the flight speed of the rocket is more than 9 Machs, and the range is more than 1 thousand km. A missile is capable of destroying both sea and land targets.

Zircon in various modifications will be included in the arsenal of corvettes and frigates of the Navy. Also, such hypersonic missiles will be able to launch new destroyers, landing ships, modernized cruisers, large anti-submarine ships and multipurpose nuclear submarines.

Vladimir Putin calls Zircon an extremely important weapon "to maintain strategic stability." In addition to the marine version of hypersonic ammunition, experts believe that Russia can also develop a ground-based modification.

The creation of the ground Zircon will be a response to the appearance of previously prohibited weapons in the US arsenal after the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty), military analysts say.

As Sergei Sudakov emphasized, the emergence in Russia of sea-based hypersonic weapons, such as the Zircon, will nullify the main advantage of the US Armed Forces - strike naval aircraft carrier groups.

“America has built its power for a very long time, based on huge fleets, on 11 largest fleets, which are based on the most powerful aircraft carriers. With the advent of hypersonic weapons, all aircraft carriers became vulnerable until the enemy had even more advanced weapons than hypersound, ”said Sudakov.

  • Pentagon Building
  • AFP
  • © FREDERIC WALLOIS

"Does not reflect reality"

According to experts, all the statements of American politicians that Russian developments allegedly do not affect the balance of power in the world are designed exclusively for the “internal audience”.

“This in no way reflects reality. Hypersonic weapons largely affect the course of hostilities. Russia now predetermines the vector of technological development, ”said Sudakov.

The military expert Yuri Knutov adheres to a similar point of view. According to him, such statements are political in nature and do not reflect the real situation.

“Their goal is to reassure the public, because the Americans in this area are about five years behind, or maybe more. And they still do not even understand what to oppose hypersound. I can say that the missile defense systems that they have are unpromising in this regard, ”the expert noted.

According to him, the gap in this area, the United States will be able to narrow only if Russia itself stops work in this area.

“The US will only be able to close the gap if we stop. If we stop funding research and development defense industry complexes to improve these weapons and develop types of weapons based on new physical principles, they can catch up with us. And if we work at the same pace that we worked before, then all the time we will overtake the United States, ”the expert concluded.