The Pentagon has a long -standing policy not to advertise hypersonic missile tests, except for safety notices to reduce civilian aircraft and ships. But the Defense Department announced the success of the previous Dark Eagle Test flight within a few hours of the launch, and this time did not.
Hypersonic missiles offer many benefits than traditional ballistic missiles. These new types of weapons are more tactical and dimmed than other missiles, so it is more difficult for the air defense system to detect, track and destroy them. They are designed to avoid an opponent’s missile warning sensors. These sensors were actually activated to detect large, bright -incoming ballistic missiles, which have a prediction of their goals after expanding themselves out of the environment and in space.
A hypersonic weapon is different. It can slipping into the upper environment at a rash speed, which produces a very slow signature that makes it difficult to see the traditional missile warning with infrared sensors on the satellite. At these heights, glide vehicle can take advantage of the aerodynamic forces for tactics. This is why the Pentagon’s space development agency is spending billions of dollars to deploy a network of missile -based satellites in the orbit of the Earth, with hundreds of sophisticated sensors close to the hypersonic weapons flight.
The Dark Eagle is designed to fly at a speed of 5, or 3,800 miles per hour, which is reported to be 1,725 miles (2,775 km), which is enough to reach NATO borders with Guam from Taiwan, or from Western Europe to Russia. The US military says it has no plans to develop its hypersonic weapons with nuclear warheads.
In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Department said the official name of the weapon pays tribute to the Eagle, which is known for its pace, stealth and agony. The Pentagon said that the Dark Eagle also offers a mixture of similar attributes: speed, accuracy, plan, survival and ability, the Pentagon said.