According to U.S. Space Operations Vice Chief David Thompson, U.S. hypersonic weapons are currently “not as advanced” as those of China and Russia but that it is an area the navy and the air force is “working on.” At the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada on Nov. 20, Thompson acknowledged that Russia and China being ahead of the United States in hypersonic missile development complicates the “principle of strategic warning” because it makes it difficult to pinpoint the target of the missile and activate warning systems. “Combine that with a fractional orbital bombardment system, [the missile] can go around the world then hit you,” said Thompson. “Even if you can track that maneuvering weapon … you still don’t know the target until the last minute because it maneuvers all the way.” Regarding why the United States is lagging behind in hypersonic weapon development, Thompson listed a multitude of reasons, …
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