A U.S. Navy program called the Revolutionary Approach to Time-Critical Long-Range Strike (or Rattlrs) aims to build a hypersonic missile demonstrator "with trace-ability to an eventual tactical weapon."
The United States needs to do more to control the spread of technology capable of being used to develop cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to a new U.S. General Accounting Office report.
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The U.S. Navy's Trident submarine fleet is finding a new life as a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine, or SSGN. They could be used for stealthy strike operations, surfacing only to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles or a squadron of Navy SEALs.
The Defense Department wants to develop a high-speed drone able to launch attacks anywhere in the world within two hours of leaving a U.S. base.
The Pentagon is planning a new generation of weapons, including huge hypersonic drones and bombs dropped from space, that will allow the US to strike its enemies at lightning speed from its own territory.
The author looks at the growing threat of cruise missiles, especially given recent tests by North Korea and Iraq, and argues that a sound defense against cruise missiles "depends as much on developing more effective nonproliferation policies as it does on planning for more versatile missile defenses."
The ballistic missile threat is well-publicized and has long been a factor in Pentagon planning, but US vulnerability to cruise missiles has only recently come to the forefront.
Revised definitions of ?range? and ?payload? in the Missile Technology Control Regime will help reduce the proliferation of cruise missiles according to U.S. officials.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has sent the White House a classified memo warning of the spread of cruise missiles among hostile nations and urging an intensified government-wide effort to defend against them.
two reports issued this month warn that low-cost, low-tech cruise missiles could become an attractive alternative to ballistic missiles for potential adversaries. They urge defense officials to erect new defenses and give greater attention to reducing the spread of cruise missile technologies.