The Congressional Research Service has prepared a new report on the proliferation of hypersonic weapons for US parliamentarians. In it, members of both houses of parliament are informed about the principles of its work, tell what developments are being conducted in the United States, and also remind of the threat of its application from Russia and China.

The document was presented to congressmen and senators in connection with the request for additional funding, which the Pentagon wants to receive for the study of technology of hypersonic weapons.

“The Pentagon’s budget request for all research related to hypersonic weapons is $ 2.6 billion, including $ 157.4 million for the development of hypersonic protection programs,” the text of the document, which was reviewed by RT, reads.

The authors of the report note that the US Department of Defense does not currently have approved hypersonic weapons programs.

"This suggests that it (the Department of Defense. - RT ) may not have approved either the system requirements or long-term financing plans," write the Congressional Research Service.

As noted by the head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology Plekhanova Andrei Koshkin, Russia overtook the United States in the field of hypersonic weapons, but Washington is hard to admit.

“Perhaps the United States to some extent agrees that they are lagging behind in the field of hypersonic weapons, but they do not publicly recognize this and, accordingly, are looking for informational events that, in their opinion, expose the Russian Federation as an aggressor and raise their status in the eyes of the public” - said Koshkin in an interview with RT.

According to the expert, "the US simply relaxed, because they considered and continue to consider themselves leaders in the main areas of life, including in the defense."

Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, agrees with this point of view.

“Indeed, Washington lags behind not only Russia, but also China from the development of hypersonic weapons. The American side was not previously concerned about this area of ​​research, and confidence in absolute superiority played a cruel joke with them, ”Batyuk noted.

Army, aviation and navy

The report notes that all three main types of the US Armed Forces - the Navy, Air Force and the Army (Ground Forces) can become potential developers of a new type of weapon and are already working on their own concepts of programs for its creation.

So, the Navy is developing the concept of "instant non-nuclear strike." It is designed to "provide the American armed forces with the opportunity to strike at fortified and mobile targets using non-nuclear warheads."

As part of this program, the report states, sailors want to develop both their own hypersonic glider winged warhead and a special launcher that will be deployed on American submarines.

  • Hypersonic Test Vehicle American Hypersonic Test Unit
  • Reuters
  • © Bobbi Zapka / USAF

Speakers report that for this, sailors will need $ 593 million in the development of new IR CPS medium-range missiles in fiscal 2020, as well as $ 5.2 billion over the next five years as part of the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) .

The US Air Force is also conducting its own project to create a new type of weapon. As part of a program to develop hypersonic non-nuclear weapons, they are going to combine a planning aircraft with a solid-propellant missile guided by the GPS system. The launch of such missiles will be carried out with strategic bombers B-52 Stratofortress.

Ground forces are also preparing to implement a program to create a ground-based hypersonic missile, in the framework of which they will also conduct development of a combat unit and a two-stage launch system.

The report notes that the military expects to achieve a missile range of 2.25 km, to overcome enemy defenses in the so-called A2 / AD zones (the ABM line in Kaliningrad. - RT ). For these studies, the military will need funding of $ 228 million in fiscal 2020 and another $ 1.2 billion under the Future Defense Program. The first flight tests of a ground-based hypersonic missile may take place as early as 2023, the report says.

Andrei Koshkin believes that the dates of the alleged tests announced in the report are too optimistic and have little relevance to reality.

“Washington, for propaganda reasons, states in the information space that in 2-3 years the Americans will create missiles with hypersonic parameters, although this may not actually happen. Today, the United States cannot reconcile itself with the lag, with the fact that they do not have the hypersonic missiles that Russia has, ”the expert noted.

Best defense

In addition to developing hypersonic weapons programs, Washington needs to think about means of protection against potential weapons of such weapons, the document says.

"The Department of Defense is also investing in anti-hypersonic weapons capabilities, although, according to US Under Secretary of Defense Research and Development Michael Griffin, the US will not have defense capabilities to counter hypersonic weapons until at least the mid-2020s." , - noted in the report.

  • Pentagon Building
  • AFP

Recall that Russia has three types of hypersonic weapons at once: the Zircon anti-ship system, the Dagger complex and the Vanguard strategic weapons.

The range of the anti-ship missile "Zircon" is over 1 thousand km, while it is able to reach speeds of up to 9 Machs. The Dagger missile system is on pilot combat duty of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation, it overcomes up to 2 thousand km and accelerates to 10 Machs in the final section.

But the most powerful weapon is the Avangard complex, which today is invulnerable to the missile defense of a possible enemy. In certain areas, he can reach speeds of up to 27 Machs.

In an interview with RT, Andrei Koshkin noted that, perhaps, in the future, with the development of laser technology, a way to counter hypersonic weapons will be found, but at the present time there is no reliable protection against these missiles.

“Today there really is no weapon that can intercept an ultra-fast hypersonic missile. However, countermeasures have always been taken in response to any weapon, since humanity is constantly in the mode of creating weapons and methods of protection against it, ”said the expert.

The congressional report notes that a number of American experts are proposing negotiations to conclude a new international arms control agreement that would establish a moratorium or ban on testing hypersonic weapons.

"Analysts insist that the test ban will be an" easily verifiable "and" extremely effective "tool to prevent a potential arms race and maintain strategic stability," the document says.

As one of the treaties, which could serve as the basis for such a moratorium, experts from the United States call START III. However, the authors of the report note that the document expires in 2021, and the chances of it being extended are slim.

Commenting on this provision of the report of the US Congress, Vladimir Batyuk noted that Russia's participation in new agreements will depend on what the American side will offer.

“The Russian Federation has an obvious advantage in hypersound, so the Americans, in turn, must make concessions in those areas in which they have an advantage,” the expert said.

For his part, Andrei Koshkin recalled that after withdrawing from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) Washington repeatedly made statements that China should also join the new arms control agreements.

“The USA has already declared the need to invite China to participate in the negotiations, they wanted to attract several more states to them. However, countries are now facing too complex tasks, so the harmonization process may cause some difficulties. Russia is always ready to consider and sign new deterrence agreements, ”the expert concluded.