Chris Pleasance has article on the Daily Mail Online’s website this morning (March 27, 2017) discussing Russia’s new Zicron, hypersonic cruise missile, which travels between 3,800 and 4,600 mph — five to six times the speed of sound. Mr. Pleasance writes that “experts warn the ‘unstoppable’ projectiles could spell disaster for the Royal Navy’s new 6.2B Pound Sterling aircraft carriers — the HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the HMS Prince of Wales.” The hypersonic cruise missile is capable of carrying warheads ranging from high explosive to nuclear.
Mr. Pleasance writes that the “British Navy’s anti-missile defenses are only equipped to shoot down projectiles traveling 2,300 mph — meaning they would be useless against the Zicron.” In essence, this would be the equivalent of a major league baseball player swinging at a pitch that has already crossed home plate. Mr. Pleasance adds that this vulnerability/gap, would “force [British] aircraft carriers to anchor outside their estimated 500 mile range.” But, by taking this defensive measure, British carrier-based jets and helicopters would be unable to reach their targets, carry out their mission, and returning without running out of fuel — effectively rendering them useless,” he wrote.
Mr. Pleasance quotes Pete Sandeman, a naval expert as saying: “Defense against hypersonic missiles presents a huge challenge. Even if the missile is broken up or detonated by close-in weapons, the debris has so much kinetic energy that the ship may still be badly damaged.”
The Zicron cruise missile entered testing earlier this year; and could be fitted to the Russian, nuclear-powered cruiser, Pyotr Velikiy, as soon as 2018, with operational deployment by 2022, according to Russian state media reporting. “It can be fired from land, sea, and submarines, carrying payloads ranging from high explosives, to nuclear,” Mr. Pleasance notes. “The Zicron uses scramjet technology, which mixes fuel with air; and, allows it to burn at hypersonic speeds. This means the projectile can travel at astonishing speeds — covering 155 miles in 2.5 minutes, which is faster than a sniper’s bullet.”
Speed Kills — ‘You Can’t Teach Speed’
For those of you old enough, you will remember the opening monologue of the TV show, The Adventures Of Superman, whereby the narrator would say that “Superman — Faster than a speeding bullet.” Well, move over Superman, you have been rendered obsolete. Former Alabama football coach Bear Bryant once said that ‘You can’t teach speed.’ Now he might say: “Speed kills.’
And, Russia isn’t the only nation making a major hypersonic arms push. China, and the United States, along with Russia are devoting significant time, effort, and resources in this domain; and, as one looks out into the next decade and beyond, this area in particular is frightening in their potential to inflict catastrophic damage — faster than a sniper’;s bullet. We will soon be in a situation, if we aren’t already, whereby adversaries will have the capability to initiate a first strike faster than the human capacity to react and take defensive measures — if possible.
There are those that argue that the move to autonomous systems on the ‘battlefield’, enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI), is still perhaps a decade, or more away. The argument goes that we won’t be able to divorce ourselves completely from the operational use of such weapons; and, you will still need a human in the loop — if for no other reason than AI cannot account for the human ability to be devious, deceitful, cunning, and sick and twisted. That may all be true. But, if the innovation and technological advances continue — particularly in the domain of speed — we will find ourselves in a situation where our ability to comprehend what is transpiring on the ‘battlefield’; and, take appropriate offensive/defensive measures is too slow to prevent a first, or catastrophic first strike. In essence, we are reaching, or have reached the point — where we are swinging at a baseball that….has already crossed the plate.
Where does this all end? And, what does it look like? V/R, RCP
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