Some context re. reported speed of #NorthKorean #missile:

All #ballistic #missiles are #hypersonic (faster than Mach 5) at some point in their flight. N.Germany’s V-2, deployed Sept. 1944, was hypersonic during its boost phase. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (#ICBMs)… 1/n
…, first deployed by the US in 1959, are high-hypersonic (Mach 25) throughout their entire flight. Subsequent decades have witnessed the emergence of “#hypersonic#missile systems that can maneuver instead of following a fixed parabolic trajectory, including #ASBMs, #HGVs 2/n
…and air-breathing supersonic combustion ramjets (#scramjets). The US investigated maneuvering re-entry vehicles in the late 1970s, the #SovietUnion #HGVs in the mid-1980s; both failed. In 1981, the US fielded the #PershingII medium-range #ballistic #missile (#MRBM), whose… 3/n
…whose terminal braking maneuver has been widely attributed to #China’s #DF21D & #DF26B #ASBMs. In April 2010, the US successfully tested the first #HGV, #Falcon #HTV2. The re-started #Russian HGV research & development effort (Project 4202, which would become #Avangard)… 4/n
…appears to have taken a little longer. What is “new” is recent fielding of mature, #hypersonic #missiles w/maneuvering payloads by US adversaries. #Russia has developed #Avangard #HGV & has fielded—or will soon field—#scramjet-powered 3M22 #Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. 5/n
#China has fielded the aforementioned DF-21D & DF-26B #ASBMs, as well as the #DF17 (likely with the DF-ZF #HGV). All of these systems use speed & maneuverability to greatly complicate defender’s problem. Maneuvering potentially enables approaching from unexpected angles… 6/n
…to strike a moving target on land or sea. Nonparabolic trajectory allows approaching at lower altitude. Tradeoffs include slowing significantly (typically below #Mach 10) to mitigate ionized plasma field that inhibits active radar sensors typically employed to seek targets. 7/n
My book on #PRC #ASBM development offers further history & background (full text PDF here): andrewerickson.com/wp-content/upl…

Keyword-searchable “Bookshelf”: andrewerickson.com/2020/11/the-ch…

#OpenSource @DeptofDefense datapoints: andrewerickson.com/2021/11/the-pe…

What now? >> 19fortyfive.com/2020/11/chinas…

/END

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Andrew Erickson 艾立信

Andrew Erickson 艾立信 Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @AndrewSErickson

Jul 31
As #Kissinger shouted at 1969 football game, "On what theory?"
nytimes.com/1970/02/19/arc…

An alternative possibility—the "Ducks in a Row" approach:

Ambitious but failure averse, #Xi faces strong incentives to max forces before attempting one of (recent) history's greatest gambles.
"Ducks in a Row" model ≠ theoretical speculation.

#Xi himself has charged #PLA w/ achieving 2027 "Centennial #Military Building Goal" (#建军一百年奋斗目标).

DoD: "this would provide Beijing w/ more credible military options in a #Taiwan contingency."

>>andrewerickson.com/2021/12/prc-pu… ImageImageImageImage
"Ducks in a Row" model allows ZERO room for complacency.

#Xi may well PREFER +-5 years more #PLA prep to attempt max-stakes mark on #history.

But many factors now in play, stakes high, margins thin.

#PRC rhetoric re @SpeakerPelosi trip suggests growing tensions moving forward. ImageImageImageImage
Read 7 tweets
Jun 6
Revealing spotlight on #China's emerging #PLA #Naval facility in #Ream, #Cambodia!

Glad to support @nakashimae & @catecadell's exposé @WashPost.

This will be hot topic at #SLD22 where I'm honored to be a delegate. Let's see what officials say! @IISS_org

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
Ships adding up—

"#China’s #navy is already the world’s largest by #s of vessels. The @USNavy has 297 battle-force ships..according to @CRS4Congress, while China has 355 & is projected to have 460 by 2030, according to last year’s @DeptofDefense report."

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
But, said Andrew Erickson, research director of the @ChinaMaritime Studies Institute @NavalWarCollege, “as impressive as those numbers are, without a significant network of robust overseas facilities, their ability to use them falls off rapidly w distance from China.” #Ream #Base
Read 6 tweets
Feb 24
As tonight’s unfolding #Ukraine tragedy underscores only too starkly—

—the @POTUS @JoeBiden Administration MUST PRESERVE (extended)#DETERRENCE 100% in the forthcoming #Nuclear Posture Review/#NPR.

Must avoid not only “#NoFirstUse/#NFU”—BUT ALSO “#SolePurpose”—road to perdition!
Virtue signaling is no substitute for #deterrence signaling!

The #NPR must avoid not only widely-dismissed “#NoFirstUse” (#NFU) language, but also the dangerous concept of “#SolePurpose.”

Text/graphics from @DeptofDefense 2021 #China #Military Power Report show key reasons why. ImageImageImageImage
#SolePurpose” = unacceptably erosive/destabilizing, not a no-or-low-cost #VirtueSignaling sop to #ArmsControl idealism.

Would reduce credibility/#deterrent of @POTUS’s potential counters to massive #conventional offensives by #Russia/#China.

Tragic reminder tonight in #Ukraine ImageImageImage
Read 7 tweets
Feb 11
New US #IndoPacific #Strategy!

Read full text here: whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…

"The #PRC..pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-#Pacific & seeks to become the world’s most influential power. The PRC’s coercion & aggression spans the globe, but..is most acute in..Indo-Pacific."
#INDOPACIFIC: The Region by the #s

#POPULATION: Over half the world’s people, including 58% of youth

#ECONOMY: 60% of global GDP

#GROWTH: 2/3 of global economic growth

#GEOGRAPHY: 65% of the world’s oceans &🌊 25% of its land

>#STRATEGY: whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
From the new U.S. #IndoPacific #Strategy:

"The United States is the leading international provider
of education to students from the Indo-#Pacific—nearly 68% of international students studying in the United States hail from the region..."

Read full text: whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
Read 13 tweets
Jan 16
Now Out in Paperback! “#China Goes to #Sea: #Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective”

amazon.com/China-Goes-Sea…

@NavalWarCollege @ChinaMaritime is proud to publish this new version w/ @NavalInstitute @USNIBooks!

Come for the #maps, stay for the #history...
Honored to have #JonathanSpence’s endorsement:

“The maritime #history of #China has long been a neglected field..China Goes to Sea bring[s] that knowledge-gap to an end..will be an indispensable companion to those readers seeking to understand where China’s navy may be heading.”
As European #naval powers & even the @USNavy struggle with ship numbers, #China has gone to #sea.

Represents the reversal of a great historical trend that began 600 years ago, when China withdrew from the seas & European naval expansion spread Western influence around the globe.
Read 34 tweets
Jan 1
#Global #PartyPanopticon:

#PRC "gov't, which has built an extensive digital infrastructure & security apparatus to ctrl dissent on its own platforms, is going to even greater lengths to extend its internet dragnet to unmask & silence those who criticize"

nytimes.com/2021/12/31/bus…
...the #PRC "on @Twitter, @Facebook & other international #SocialMedia.

These new investigations, targeting sites blocked inside #China, are relying on sophisticated technological methods to expand the reach of #Chinese authorities & the list of targets"

nytimes.com/2021/12/31/bus…
"To hunt people, [#PRC] security forces use advanced investigation #software, #PublicRecords & #databases to find all their #PersonalInformation & international #SocialMedia presence.

The operations sometimes target those living beyond #China’s borders."

nytimes.com/2021/12/31/bus…
Read 12 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(