Pentagon asserts its unquestionable strength to deter Russia’s hypersonic weapons
The USA’s ability to counter Russia’s hypersonic weapons is unquestionable despite the claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin made while presenting new Russia’s hypersonic weapons in March, stated John Hyten, Commander of United States Strategic Command during a Space & Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, CNBC reports.
“Guess what? He [Vladimir Putin] still can't find our submarines, he still can't take out 400 missile fields across the country, he still can't do anything about those, so our deterrent capability is still unquestioned, unchallenged and can dominate and can respond to any threat”, — Commander of United States Strategic Command said. “We are the dominant military power on the planet in every domain, and everybody understands that”, — he added.
According to him, “Russia and China cannot be called USA’s friends because they're building weapons that can destroy the United States of America.” Hyten added that, “I always wish we started [working on hypersonics] five years ago or ten years ago because then we wouldn't be worried... but we didn't, so we have to step up now, and we are.”
In March, during the address to the Federal assembly, Putin spoke about the creation of the Kinzhal hypersonic aircraft missile system. In the same month, Hyten stated during Senate hearings that the USA is not able to defend against such weapons. “We don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us,” he stressed.
In April, the Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a $928 million US Air Force contract for an undefined number of hypersonic strike weapons. Lockheed will be responsible for designing, engineering, weapon integration and logistical support.