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US tests advanced hypersonic weapon over the Pacific

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Army tests hypersonic weapon over the Pacific

(AP) – 43 minutes ago

HONOLULU (AP) — The Army on Thursday conducted its first flight test of a new weapon capable of traveling five times the speed of sound.

The Army launched the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon from the military's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai at about 1:30 a.m.

The weapon's "glide vehicle" reached Kwajalein Atoll — some 2,300 miles away — in less than half an hour, said Lt. Col. Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

Earlier this year, the Congressional Research Service said in a report the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon is part of the military's program to develop "prompt global strike" weapons that would allow the U.S. to strike targets anywhere in the world with conventional weapons in as little as an hour.
The Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, are developing a similar vehicle.

The Pentagon said the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, or AHW, vehicle is designed to fly long ranges within the earth's atmosphere at speeds that are at least five times the speed of sound.
The objective of Thursday's test was to collect data on technologies that boost the hypersonic vehicle and allow it to glide. The Army was also testing how the vehicle performed in long-range flight.

The Congressional Research Service report said the AHW would be able to maneuver to avoid flying over third party nations as it approached its target. The weapon would use a precision guidance system to home in on the target, it said.

The Associated Press: Army tests hypersonic weapon over the Pacific


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Space and Missile Defense Command tests hypersonic glider for possible use as conventional weapon

Published: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 2:20 PM, By Kenneth Kesner, The Huntsville Times

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The first flight test of a hypersonic, long-range glide vehicle that might someday be used as a conventional weapon to strike quickly at enemies around the globe was conducted today over the Pacific Ocean by the Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon concept uses a first-of-its-kind glide vehicle, designed to fly within the earth's atmosphere, according to the Department of Defense. A three-stage booster system launched the AHW from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, at 1:30 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Time (5:30 a.m. Central).

The AHW vehicle successfully deployed and flew a non-ballistic glide trajectory at hypersonic speed to a planned impact location at the Reagan Test Site, on Kwajalein Atoll, according to a DoD statement.

The AHW program is managed and executed by SMDC at its headquarters on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. The vehicle's thermal protection system was developed by the Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center at Redstone Arsenal. The booster system and glide vehicle itself were developed by Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M.

The Department of Defense is using AHW to develop and demonstrate technologies for "Conventional Prompt Global Strike." As part of that effort, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency conducted boost-glide flight tests in April 2010 and August 2011, results from which were used in planning today's AHW flight test.

No information is yet available on the results of today's AHW flight test.

Space and Missile Defense Command tests hypersonic glider for possible use as conventional weapon | al.com
 
I believe one would call it a non-ballistic missile since it "glides" and can be steered. It is not "reusable". It strikes with tremendous kinetic energy, which is "dissipated" by the target. You don't want to dissipate a lot of kinetic energy. Just try hitting a tree at Mach 5.

---------- Post added at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 PM ----------

Let's hope a subsequent test missile has a tactical nuke on it and lands accidently on a US military base.

Awwww. Let's not hope THAT! Let's hope that it lands somewhere north of Tehran ......:wave:
 
Bad news for China!

Covertly, US is bullying China for an arms race much like it did for Soviet Union!
 

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