Putin unveils new Russian nuclear arsenal

[element1loop]

I've worked with refractory materials in high temp presurised-air heat cycles, so I know what happens to them, so where that video said, "relatively brittle" ... give it a miss.

[armedupdate]

Can anything practically stop Hypersonic glide vehicles? Mach 20 impacting Carrier doesn't sound fun.

The problem I see is they go so fast and can turn as well, you need to launch multiple SM-6s or THAAD-ER to bring down just one and those ABMs are very short ranged so it can be overwhelmed. I hope they make the SM-3 Block IIB with atmospheric capabilities.

[madrat]

Lasers travel much faster and will make hypersonic missiles oscillate into smithereens at a safe range.

[marsavian]

Russia, China eclipse US in hypersonic missiles, prompting fears

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/38036 ... ting-fears

In congressional testimony last week Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, conceded U.S. missile defense cannot stop hypersonics. He said that the U.S. is instead relying on nuclear deterrence, or the threat of a retaliatory U.S. strike, as its defense against such missiles. To bolster missile defenses against hypersonics, Hyten advocated space-based sensors.

“I believe we need to pursue improved sensor capabilities to be able to track, characterize and attribute the threats, wherever they come from,” he said. “And, right now, we have a challenge with that, with our current on-orbit space architecture and the limited number of radars that we have around the world. In order to see those threats, I believe we need a new space sensor architecture.”

Asked if the U.S. is really falling behind Russia and China on hypersonics, Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said flatly: “Yes.”

“And the reason is the U.S. hasn’t been doing anything near the same pace both in terms of developing our own capabilities but also failing to develop sensors and shooters necessary to shoot down theirs,” he continued.

Terrestrial sensors are limited in their ability because of the curvature of the earth, Karako said, but “you can’t hide from a robust constellation of space-based sensors.”

Yet while the last five administrations have identified space-based sensors as a critical need on paper, nothing has come to fruition, he said.

“One of the reasons that we haven’t prioritized the hypersonic threat is we were slow to kind of appreciate not merely the Russia and China problem, but the Russia and China missile problem,” Karako said.

[marsavian]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald ... es-n861256

Behind the scenes, however, Trump has recently taken a sharper tone on Putin, administration officials said, but the shift seems more a reaction to the Russian leader challenging the president's strength than a new belief that he's an adversary. Putin's claim earlier this month that Russia has new nuclear-capable weapons that could hit the U.S., a threat he underscored with video simulating an attack, "really got under the president's skin," one official said.

Two officials said Trump told Putin during a phone call after Putin's re-election last week: "If you want to have an arms race we can do that, but I'll win."

An argument the president's national security advisers have found to be successful in trying to persuade Trump to adopt aggressive Russia policies is that Putin responds to strength and the way to achieve better relations is to be tougher on him, officials said.

One official described it as a way to "motivate" Trump on Russia.

"He digs in his heels," the official said. "He thinks a better relationship with Russia is good for the U.S., and he really believes he can deliver it."

Moreover, the official said, Trump wants a better U.S. relationship with Russia to prove he can accomplish it.

[mixelflick]

"If you want to have an arms race we can do that, but I'll win." LOL

Normally, I vote independent. But I will tell you this: I love the fact we have a President that tells it like it is. Straight talk, not this PC crap that has proliferated all these years. I feel a hell of a lot better with him in the White House vs. Clinton. She had/has a God awful relationship with Putin, and no doubt the 2 would remain at odds. At least Trump brings the possibility of working with Putin. And if not like he said, we'll compete with them (and win).

If the Dems were smart they wouldn't have rigged their own primary and let Sanders run. At least he believed in what he said, and was genuine vs. the robotic liar, Clinton. He would have won too, I'm convinced of it...