US Army Teases World's Fastest Missile That Can Travel At 20,991 Kmph
This Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) missile could be the one teased by POTUS Donald Trump numerous times, describing it as a ¡®super-duper missile¡¯.
The US Army has showcased a new video of a secret hypersonic missile at the annual Space and Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium, which is being held online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Military
This Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) missile could be the one teased by POTUS Donald Trump numerous times, describing it as a ¡®super-duper missile¡¯.
The video is apparently not that new. It was shot on March 19 and has been shared previously too. It shows a massive rocket blasting off Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The test is dubbed ¡®Flight Experiment 2¡¯.
Army shows video of March 2020 Common-Hypersonic Glide Body flight test @SMDConference: pic.twitter.com/46fDDlGXKF
¡ª CSIS Missile Defense (@Missile_Defense) August 4, 2020
Reported first by the Drive, the launch was coordinated by the US Army with the Navy. The report also hints that this "super duper" missile will be capable of flying at the speed of Mach 17 which is approximately 20,991 kilometres per hour. Just to put things into perspective, Mach 1 is the speed of sound. So yeah, that¡¯s pretty fast.
According to DefenceIQ.com, "most supersonic missiles travel at a speed between Mach-2 and Mach-3, which is up to 2,300 mph. The most well-known supersonic missile is the Indian/Russian BrahMos, currently the fastest operational supersonic missile capable of speeds around 2,100¨C2,300 mph." But this new hypersonic missile teased by the US Military and Donald Trump in the past is capable of shattering that speed record in the blink of an eye, if it can reach Mach 17 speed.
US hypersonic missile development
The video on the US military hypersonic missile shows a section of the actual flight of the secret hypersonic missile. The flight wasn¡¯t as long as you¡¯d expect, and it ended with a bang. It isn¡¯t clear whether it actually is an explosive that explodes at the target or just a missile randomly colliding with a target, showcasing what a missile crashing at hypersonic speeds can look like.
The report also highlights that while we don¡¯t have many details about the missile, Trump was heard talking about an Army-Navy weapon in June of 2020 in his commencement speech at West Point, touting that the missile can hit the target with accuracy within 14 inches. That¡¯s a strong claim considering how large the missile is. Although it is not uncommon for Trump to over-exaggerate at times, so it's better to take this with a pinch of salt.
Reuters
While the missile is still under testing, we can expect this to be in the line of its newest ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) and even be equipped with nuclear firepower while creating a strong statement of US¡¯s nuclear prowess.
