Hypersonic weapons will spark devastating global conflict by making powerful nations ‘trigger happy’, think tank warns
Mega destructive weapons can be fitted with nuclear warheads and travel so fast that they are basically unstoppable. Experts believe they will make an apocalyptically devastating global conflict more likely to occur
THE development of new types of "hypersonic" missiles could trigger an apocalyptic war which causes destruction on an epic scale, defence experts have warned.
A think tank called the RAND Corporation has just issued an urgent briefing about "hypersonic missiles", which travel five times faster than traditional cruise missiles.
China, Russia and the US are currently racing to build these terrifying weapons.
They can travel as quickly as traditional ballistic missiles but are much more manoeuvrable, meaning they could steer around defences with ease.
They are described as being hypersonic because they travel at five times the speed of sound.
Analysts fear they will make war more likely by putting rival nations on "hair-trigger states of readiness".
The weapons can also be modified to carry nuclear warheads.
“Hypersonic missile proliferation would increase the chances of strategic war,” said Richard Speier, lead author of the report and a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, a research organisation.
“It would give nations an incentive to become trigger-happy.”
Hypersonic missiles are a "new class of threat because they are capable both of manoeuvring and of flying faster than 5,000 kilometres [3,100 miles] per hour", the think tank continued.
It's feared they will make missile defence systems totally redundant.
The RAND Corporation is deeply worried about the risk of small nations getting their hands on the weapons.
It said China, US and Russia should commit to a "hypersonic missile nonproliferation" agreement immediately and said we have just a decade to "substantially hinder the potential proliferation of hypersonic missiles and associated technologies".
China claimed it has already developed a hypersonic engine which could make its missiles invisible to existing defence systems.
In Russia, Vladimir Putin’s scientists are developing a new hypersonic jet called the PAK-DA, which it is claimed will be able to drop nuclear warheads from space.
It's claimed the new bomber will be capable of striking any target on the planet within two hours.
Earlier this year, the US and Australia conducted a
The Pentagon previously said it wants to test out hypersonic missiles by 2020.
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