Hypersonic Fleet-Based missiles are capable of Mach 10-11, which means that offshore of the U.S. aboard a Kinzal or the Zircon SSN-33 are missiles either airborne launched, submarine and ship-launched hypersonic missiles that would provide only seconds of response time and can be fired at sea from international waters into the United States from any sea lane or approach within 1000 km of the U.S.
For Canada, investing in the ‘Golden Dome’ anti-ballistic missile system proposed by Trump, which may cost literally trillions of dollars, and whose infallibility is anything but proven, would be irrational.
A single Russian or Chinese submarine would likely be capable of successfully delivering a hypersonic nuclear strike on the United States from either the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea and could cover the 1000 kilometre distance in approximately 5 minutes, making its interception highly unlikely, particularly in light of the fact that these missiles can change their trajectory at will.
In the unlikely event that detection, targeting and interception was indeed achieved by a land-based system, interception and elimination of a hypersonic missile has been deemed ‘highly unlikely’ by Lockheed’s experts.
Therefore the practicality of having Canada expend limited resources on a project such as “Golden Dome” borders on irrational.
Missiles that travel at speeds that may exceed 3 kilometres per second, impose constraints on a system that would be capable of interception such that it is near impossible to ensure interception.
Combine that with the fact that any such missiles would likely be intercepted over Canadian airspace, and it obviates the need to not become a member of any such U.S. based system.
U.S. Aircraft Carriers Are Indefensible Against Missiles that Can Travel at 10 or 11 times the Speed of Sound
Such systems obviate the need for the U.S. to rethink the viability of a nuclear protective umbrella. Such a system would not only be porous, but clearly illustrates that U.S. naval assets would be at extreme risk in a war setting.
The only rational response is to decrease the likelihood of their deployment and utilization.
However, with a man of Trump’s mental acuity in office, the likelihood is that the world will self-immolate due to the likelihood of Trump’s hubris, stupidity and ignorance leading America’s charge into oblivion.
And, most alarming, Iran claims to possess hypersonic missiles that it has not used in its war with the United States.
If true, US aircraft carriers in the Gulf would be at extreme risk, particularly if several Fatah 1 or Fatah 2 hypersonic missiles were fired at the same time.
Testing the theory of whether Iran possesses such weapons may well border on stupidity, seeing as the likelihood of interception is poor, at best.
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