Could Strike Anywhere On Earth In An Hour

The Obama administration is backing the development of a new generation of missile that could strike anywhere on the planet in an hour or less.

Called the "Prompt Global Strike" (PGS) system, it is built around a hypersonic missile that could travel at speeds of up to Mach 5 or 3,6000 miles per hour. A Tomahawk cruise missile flies at about 550 miles per hour.

The Times of London reports that the White House confirmed that President Obama was considering the deployment of the system. Part of the reasoning cited was that a cruise missile failed to kill Osama Bin Laden in 1998 because it was too late arriving at an Al-Qaeda training camp. Bin Laden had left by the time the missile hit its target.

The White House has reportedly requested nearly $250 million in next year's budget for hypersonic research. The weapon could be launched from air, sea, or ground, and be guided by GPS to its target. The friction of the air at Mach 5 could generate so much heat that the missile will need special shielding to keep from melting in flight.

The PGS has drawn mixed reaction from the international community. The Deputy Secretary of the Russian National Security Council, General Yuri Baluyevsky, said that the U.S. had only agreed to recent nuclear arms reductions because of its ability to "kill you using conventional high-precision weapons.”

DARPA has already reportedly begun testing missiles that could be used in a PGS system. The recent launch of a Falcon missile at Vandenberg AFB in California was seen as one such test, but a Pentagon spokesman said discussion of the Falcon as a hypersonic guided missile was "premature."

U.S. officials have reportedly sought to reassure the governments or Russia and China that any PGS missiles would be kept separate from nuclear launch sites to prevent a mis-identification of any launch. The recently-signed arms reduction treaty also stipulates that the U.S. will reduce it's nuclear arsenal by one missile for every PGS weapon brought on line.

FMI: www.dod.gov