HYPERSONIC
INTERCEPTOR - DEFENCE & SECURITY
News:
U.S., Japan to develop
hypersonic missile interceptor
What's
in the news?
● Japan
and US are set to join hands to develop a hypersonic missile interceptor
together in order to counter hypersonic warheads that are being developed by China,
Russia and North Korea.
Key
takeaways:
● The
two countries aim for the new interceptor to have the ability to turn in
response to projectiles flying at high speed at low orbit and changing their
trajectory.
● If
developed, it is expected to be able to intercept hypersonic projectiles before
they come near the point of impact.
Hypersonic
Interceptor:
● Japan and the United States
are aiming to beef up their alliance's deterrence capabilities in response to
Pyongyang's repeated ballistic missile tests and rapid advance of its missile
technologies, and Beijing's intensifying military activities in the
Indo-Pacific region including joint exercises with Moscow.
Features:
● Hypersonic
weapons fly low in the atmosphere at
roughly five times the speed of sound.
● The
weapons are harder to detect and
track than ballistic missiles, which fly in a parabolic path passing through
and out of the atmosphere.
● Hypersonics
are difficult to intercept unless they are close to the point of impact.