{"id":35185,"date":"2018-07-16T13:47:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T13:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/16\/3-thoughts-on-hypersonic-weapons-from-the-pentagons-technology-chief\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:24:35","slug":"3-thoughts-on-hypersonic-weapons-from-the-pentagons-technology-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/intel-geoint\/sensors\/2018\/07\/16\/3-thoughts-on-hypersonic-weapons-from-the-pentagons-technology-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"3 thoughts on hypersonic weapons from the Pentagon\u2019s technology chief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Correction: This story has been updated to correct attribution to Michael Griffin.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 If military terms can be described as clothing, then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/03\/02\/as-putin-touts-hypersonic-weapons-america-prepares-its-own-arsenal-will-it-be-in-time\/\" target=_blank>hypersonic weapons<\/a> are the couture, stylish, must-talk-about item of the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/04\/18\/air-force-taps-lockheed-for-new-hypersonic-cruise-missile\/\" target=_blank>technology behind them<\/a>. The theory around them. The questions of what competitors are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/industry\/techwatch\/2018\/05\/09\/russias-hypersonic-missile-debuts-alongside-new-military-tech-at-parade\/\" target=_blank>saying and doing with them<\/a>. Nearly every discussion about future capabilities for America\u2019s defense includes an early mention of hypersonics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/03\/06\/hypersonics-highest-technical-priority-for-pentagon-rd-head\/\" target=_blank>point man<\/a> for developing that capability is Michael Griffin, a former NASA administrator who is now the first-ever undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. So when he sat down with reporters July 12 to discuss a range of issues, it wasn\u2019t a surprise hypersonic weaponry came up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy view is that this is not an advantage that we can concede to people who wish to be our adversaries,\u201d he said bluntly when asked about the systems. \u201cAnd there is no reason why we should.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are three key points from Griffin that show his thinking as he helps craft America\u2019s way forward with the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>1. Hypersonic weapons&#8217; greatest impact are as tactical, not strategic, weapons.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March Russian President Vladimir Putin made waves when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-triad\/2018\/03\/01\/coersive-tactics-putin-touts-russias-invincible-nuclear-weapons\/\" target=_blank>used an annual speech<\/a> to unveil what were described as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/industry\/techwatch\/2018\/03\/12\/russia-to-world-our-new-nukes-are-no-bluff\/\" target=_blank>nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But paraphrasing comments by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Griffin noted Russia already has nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, so a strategic hypersonic weapon doesn\u2019t change the map much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, Griffin says, the issue to focus on is the \u201ctactical capability that these sorts of weapons bring to theater conflicts or regional conflicts. Very quick response, high speed, highly maneuverable, difficult to find and track and kill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials and analysts have noted that hypersonic weapons, thanks to their maneuverability, could be particularly effective as tactical weapons against U.S. naval assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>2. Space-based defense won\u2019t work.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Griffin is on record as wanting to prototype and develop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/01\/18\/griffin-interested-in-airborne-missile-defense\/\" target=_blank>new kinds of missile defense systems<\/a>. But he sees no solution based in space that would match up with hypersonic capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA space-based hypersonic defense is not a practical approach, in my way of thinking. Even if you had space-based interceptors, it would be technically the wrong way to do it,\u201d Griffin said, due to both the speed of the hypersonic missile and the fact it flies fairly low to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But space will still play a role in defeating a hypersonic weapon, the same way it does for any sort of strategic asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe utility of space for hypersonic defense is in the indications of warning, the launch detection, the surveillance, acquisition, tracking \u2014 the whole arena of persistent global timely awareness,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to do that from space, I don\u2019t know another way to do it. But that is just part of the overall space surveillance task that the DoD has.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>3. The U.S. remains ahead in research, and testing is about to increase.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there has been a lot of hype around Russia and Chinese investments in hypersonics, Griffin made it clear he believes \u201cwe are, have been [and] will remain the world leader in this research area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. could have gone down the path of pursuing more concrete systems, had it wished, Griffin said, but \u201cwe didn\u2019t see a need for it. But our adversaries get a vote, and they voted. So we\u2019re going to see their hand and raise them one, in both offensive and defensive capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To that extent, Griffin intends to speed up the research and prototyping going into hypersonic weapons, saying there are \u201ccapabilities you\u2019ll see maturing through the 2020s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re going to see our testing pace stepping up, and you\u2019re going to see capability delivery from the early \u201820s right through the decade,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what about China and Russia\u2019s timeline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Griffin said he\u2019s uncomfortable describing what they have shown off as \u201coperational\u201d at this point, although he acknowledged that the tests have been notable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow close they are to operational, I just don\u2019t know. But I\u2019m worried about our end of things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S., Russia and China are all pursuing hypersonic weapons. Here are some factors to keep in mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":51992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":42,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[106,29,15,32,42],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-35185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-intel-geoint","category-newsletters","category-sensors"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"O5VPJZDCHZGGFGVCZXAYFATA3A","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2018\/07\/16\/3-thoughts-on-hypersonic-weapons-from-the-pentagons-technology-chief\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>3 thoughts on hypersonic weapons from the Pentagon\u2019s technology chief - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S., Russia and China are all pursuing hypersonic weapons. 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