🇨🇳 Over the weekend, it emerged that in August the Chinese military secretly launched a hypersonic missile into space
"The recent test is a reminder that any future war between great powers will look very different to the last," writes @nickallen789
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
"The recent test is a reminder that any future war between great powers will look very different to the last," writes @nickallen789
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
🇺🇸The US could face catastrophic defeat by China or Russia in a hypersonic Third World War.
How much do you know about the hypersonic arms race? ⬇️
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
How much do you know about the hypersonic arms race? ⬇️
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
⏩Hypersonic means travelling faster than the speed of sound, meaning there would be little time to react…
But, by at least how many times faster?
But, by at least how many times faster?
It's five!
🔊 Hypersonic means travelling above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound
🔊 Hypersonic means travelling above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound
⏩Unlike a ballistic missile Hypersonic Glide Vehicles are extremely manoeuvrable, allowing them to evade tracking and defences 
🇨🇳China's DF-17 hypersonic missile can travel at 10 times the speed of sound (Mach 10) and carry a nuclear warhead
🇷🇺 But the Kremlin's pride and joy, the Avangard hypersonic missile, has reached a staggering Mach 27
❓How far did the Avangard missile travel when it was tested in December 2018?
❓How far did the Avangard missile travel when it was tested in December 2018?
It's 4000 miles.
🏙️ The missile can also carry a two-megaton nuclear warhead, enough to wipe out a city
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
🏙️ The missile can also carry a two-megaton nuclear warhead, enough to wipe out a city
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
🇺🇸It's fair to say there is some paranoia at the Pentagon about America's current predicament.
The US is now pouring money into hypersonic development in a bid to keep up…
❓But just how much?
The US is now pouring money into hypersonic development in a bid to keep up…
❓But just how much?
💸It's $1 billion a year
The US expects to have its own hypersonic weapons in the 2020s, and hypersonic drones in the 2030s
The US expects to have its own hypersonic weapons in the 2020s, and hypersonic drones in the 2030s
🛰️In addition, the US is prioritising a huge defensive measure, with a plan to put a a "mega-constellation" of potentially hundreds of satellites into space to monitor hypersonic missiles
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