While Russia completes its nuclear modernization program, the United States is just beginning it.

This was stated by the deputy head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General John Hayten, stressing that this is a problem for America.

“We must continue to invest in our triad and keep a close eye on all the capabilities of our adversaries ...” he said at the Air Force Association's virtual symposium on warfare in aerospace.

According to Hayten, the nuclear triad plays an important role, as it is designed to deter Russia and China, as well as to some extent North Korea and Iran, from possible nuclear attacks on the United States and its allies.

The military leader also noted that the United States must have effective sea-launched cruise missiles to counter Russian potential, as well as low-yield nuclear weapons that can be deployed in small quantities on submarines to counter Russian weapons.

This week, the Pentagon also said that US competitors from among the great powers, in particular Russia and China, are intensively developing hypersonic technologies and capabilities, actively developing such systems and putting them into service.

According to the senior director of the hypersonic weapons program of the US Undersecretary of Defense for Scientific and Technological Development Mike White, the presence of such weapons will further exacerbate the problem posed by other high-tech complexes that are being deployed by the competitors of the American side in order to allegedly endanger US forces in the air, on land at sea and in space.

In response to these actions, the Pentagon is creating a comprehensive strategy to accelerate the development and deployment of offensive hypersonic systems, as well as means of protection against enemy hypersonic weapons, the US Department of Defense said in a statement.

"The first part of the strategy concerns the deployment of offensive hypersonic systems by the early to mid-2020s to deliver strikes from sea, air and land to well-protected and especially important targets in conditions of time pressure," the department explained.

As White clarified, Washington is also considering accelerating the development and implementation in the mid-to-late 2020s of a multi-layer anti-hypersonic defense system.

  • Boeing X-51 hypersonic missile project

  • © US Air Force

“The third element of the strategy is related to reusable hypersonic systems.

The implementation of this task, according to him (White. -

RT

), is scheduled for the beginning - mid 2030s, "the Pentagon noted.

In addition, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Scientific and Technical Development did not rule out the possibility of joint development and production of hypersonic weapons with Washington's allies.

Hypersound and the nuclear issue

We will remind, at the beginning of December last year, the United States entered into an agreement with Australia, allowing the joint development and testing of hypersonic weapons.

The agreement was signed as part of the Southern Cross Comprehensive Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), which involves "joint flight tests of full-size prototypes of hypersonic cruise missiles."

However, neither the Pentagon nor the Australian Department of Defense disclosed the details of these plans and the timing of their implementation.

However, according to the American publication Defense News, a new weapon will be tested in Australia - a high-precision hypersonic missile, which is launched using a power plant and propelled by a ramjet engine.

It is expected that it will be adopted in the next five to ten years, the newspaper writes.

The Air Force Chief at RAF Canberra, Air Vice Marshal Catherine Roberts, said the weapon could be carried by tactical fighters (such as the F / A-18F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler and F-35A Lightning II). as well as the P-8A Poseidon naval reconnaissance aircraft.

Defense News informs that the tests of this missile, most likely, will take place at the Voomera training ground in South Australia.

A number of Western media outlets, including Reuters, citing Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds, reported that the development of hypersonic missiles from the United States would allegedly be carried out "in order to counter Russia and China."

In early February, during a briefing, US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby called Russia a threat to the United States “on many fronts,” noting that the Pentagon shares the fears of certain command officials about the possibility of a nuclear conflict with Moscow and Beijing.

Earlier, the head of the United States Strategic Command, Admiral Charles Richard, admitted the possibility of a US nuclear war with Russia or China.

In addition, Kirby stressed that the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin "definitely prioritizes nuclear capabilities and its modernization."

A defense spokesman also noted that questions about the Russian and Chinese threats will be included in the global review of nuclear forces.

According to him, Lloyd intends to prepare a "Nuclear Policy Review" to "better understand the state of modernization of forces, the need for innovation and research and development for their further improvement."

As clarified by the deputy head of the Pentagon Kathleen Hicks, Washington plans to adjust the national defense strategy and nuclear doctrine ("Nuclear Policy Review").

She emphasized that the ongoing military modernization of the Armed Forces in China and "destructive Russia" are special challenges for the US Armed Forces.

Hicks also talked about the importance of effectively "containing" these countries.

She believes that it is not in the interests of the American side and its allies to watch how Moscow and Beijing build up their nuclear arsenals.

"It is unlikely that it will give anything"

Meanwhile, as analysts remind, the Pentagon came to the conclusion that the country's nuclear potential is not in the best condition even under Donald Trump.

“Despite all the efforts and the allocated colossal budget, the Americans have not achieved much success.

After Trump left the presidency, this situation paused altogether.

But now we see how General Hayten is trying to get everything off the ground, "military expert Ivan Konovalov noted in a conversation with RT.

In his opinion, nuclear modernization in the United States will continue, but far from "on the scale that Trump planned."

  • Pentagon building

  • Reuters

  • © Carlos Barria

A similar point of view is shared by military expert Alexei Leonkov.

“Nobody is going to curtail this program.

There will, of course, be some adjustments.

Most likely, not only sea-based cruise missiles, but also land-based ones will be equipped with nuclear warheads.

In addition, the new administration will likely place a special emphasis on the creation of medium-range missiles that can also carry nuclear warheads, ”Leonkov suggested in an interview with RT.

It is the development and deployment by the United States of a new generation of medium-range ballistic missiles that will be accompanied by the introduction of hypersonic technologies, the analyst said.

“We are talking about hypersonic units.

Thus, we can state that nuclear modernization and hypersonic technologies are becoming two closely related areas, ”Leonkov said.

Ivan Konovalov, in turn, predicted that in the future "in a new understanding of strategic offensive weapons, not only nuclear weapons, but also hypersonic ones will be combined."

Leonkov regarded the recent statements by Pentagon representatives as a kind of signal to Congress, which should be concerned about the "Russian threat" and promote the development of these areas.

"The words of Hayten and White speak of a fervent desire of the US Department of Defense to expand the nuclear program and related projects, including hypersonic ones," he said.

However, from his point of view, "many years will pass before the United States is able to reach the level that Russia now has in the field of nuclear and hypersonic weapons."

“By that time, the Russian Federation will have gone far ahead,” the expert notes.

He also believes that the development by the Pentagon of a new strategy for the development of hypersonic capabilities is explained, among other things, by the fact that the department's previous plans in this direction were practically not implemented.

“Many tests in a number of programs have failed.

Consequently, the timing of their implementation is shifted to the right.

The Pentagon thereby confirms that the United States is now in serious problems with hypersonic technologies.

They cannot create them within the previously indicated terms, even with increased funding, ”says Leonkov.

  • Fighter-bomber F-35 Lightning II

  • Reuters

  • © US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jameson E. Lynch / Handout

In order for the new program to receive the approval of the budget committee, the Pentagon comes up with various justifications for it - first of all, these are imaginary hypersonic threats from Moscow and Beijing and the "aggressive behavior" of these countries, the expert explained.

He did not rule out that the United States will be forced to involve its allies in the creation of hypersonic complexes in exchange for a promise that these weapons, among other things, will protect them.

“They decided to collectively achieve the results that Russia and China have achieved on their own,” says Alexei Leonkov.

However, as Ivan Konovalov recalled, a similar scheme for the creation of F-35 aircraft still demonstrates "dubious effectiveness".

"Cooperation of the United States with its allies in hypersound is unlikely to give anything to the American side, except perhaps some testing grounds," the expert concluded.