<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jTJeu2vLniWcT_-Sqc5IQQUOPesQ?docId=CNG.1e15397ba6f112f35bec6eb7fd662ef1.1b1>http<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jTJeu2vLniWcT_-Sqc5IQQUOPesQ?docId=CNG.1e15397ba6f112f35bec6eb7fd662ef1.1b1>://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jTJeu2vLniWcT_-Sqc5IQQUOPesQ?docId=CNG.1e15397ba6f112f35bec6eb7fd662ef1.1b1
Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic flying bomb
(AFP)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Thursday held a
successful test flight of a flying bomb that
travels faster than the speed of sound and will
give military planners the ability to strike
targets anywhere in the world in less than a hour.
Launched by rocket from Hawaii at 1130 GMT, the
"Advanced Hypersonic Weapon," or AHW, glided
through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific "at
hypersonic speed" before hitting its target on
the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands, a Pentagon statement said.
Kwajalein is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers)
southwest of Hawaii. The Pentagon did not say
what top speeds were reached by the vehicle,
which unlike a ballistic missile is maneuverable.
Scientists classify hypersonic speeds as those
that exceed Mach 5 -- or five times the speed of
sound -- 3,728 miles (6,000 kilometers) an hour.
The test aimed to gather data on "aerodynamics,
navigation, guidance and control, and thermal
protection technologies," said Lieutenant Colonel
Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The US Army's AHW project is part of the "Prompt
Global Strike" program which seeks to give the US
military the means to deliver conventional
weapons anywhere in the world within an hour.
On August 11, the Pentagon test flew another
hypersonic glider dubbed HTV-2, which is capable
of flying 27,000 kilometers per hour, but it was a failure.
The AHW's range is less than that of the HTV-2,
the Congressional Research Service said in a
report, without providing specifics.
The Pentagon has invested 239.9 million dollars
in the Global Strike program this year, including
69 million for the flying bomb tested Thursday, CRS said.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
begin:vcard
fn:Jackie Cabasso
n:Cabasso;Jackie
org:Western States Legal Foundation
adr:;;655-13th Street, Suite 201;Oakland;CA;94612;USA
email;internet:[log in to unmask]
title:Executive Director
tel;work:510-839-5877
tel;fax:510-839-5397
tel;cell:510-306-0119
note;quoted-printable:North American Coordinator, Mayors for Peace=0D=0A=
www.mayorsforpeace.org=0D=0A=
www.2020visioncampaign.org
url:www.wslfweb.org
version:2.1
end:vcard
http://www.MitchelCohen.com
Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack, a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in.
~ Leonard Cohen
|
