Live data from Hacker News

Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

airforcemag.com

11–20 of 209 posts

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What will the outcome be? Judging by what we did in Afghanistan, not good. I hope we don't send thousands to die and/or kill other people. If they invade the US, we fight, otherwise, we shouldn't be policing the world. I don't see the benefits of a war with China, or any other country at all.

What if they decide they want to gobble up Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, etc? Should we just sit back and say "it's not us, so this is fine?"

Does Taiwan have nukes? EDIT: google thinks no.

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#12
post #2

As I understand it, China has hypersonic missiles and nukes, whereas the US does not. Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups assuming their satellites aren't taken out first. That spells game over for US projection of power if successful. China could deploy air and submersible drones to get around downed satellites, but these have the potential of being jammed with EMP,…

> Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups

If China wants to start a nuclear exchange, sure. The US probably wouldn't go nuclear in response to an invasion of Taiwan, but it absolutely would in response to a nuclear attack on US forces.

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#13
post #7
post #2

As I understand it, China has hypersonic missiles and nukes, whereas the US does not. Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups assuming their satellites aren't taken out first. That spells game over for US projection of power if successful. China could deploy air and submersible drones to get around downed satellites, but these have the potential of being jammed with EMP,…

Follow Arms Control Wonk. There's a bunch of OSINT folks in the podcast slack channel including friends of mine that have been interviewed by magazines like The Economist. I'm there more for the cyberwarfare takes, but from what I understand nobody is seriously worried about a power imbalance between China and America regarding missile speed since interceptors aren't accurate enough, but that's just me regurgitating…

[deleted]

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What will the outcome be? Judging by what we did in Afghanistan, not good. I hope we don't send thousands to die and/or kill other people. If they invade the US, we fight, otherwise, we shouldn't be policing the world. I don't see the benefits of a war with China, or any other country at all.

What if they decide they want to gobble up Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, etc? Should we just sit back and say "it's not us, so this is fine?"

Legally Taiwan and Mainland are in a civil war for the legitimate government of the one China.

One China is the "policy" of US China and Taiwan. Of course, Taiwan want to get rid of that. China will risk a nuclear war to prevent that, and US is OK with either, preferably let China bleed the most with minimal cost. These are as obvious as the sun hanging over the sky.

China had no ambition for territorial expansion other than defending herself. That's the pattern for 2 thousands years.

China indeed has historical claim over Taiwan and South China Sea. How strong that translate to modern legal system, that's up to debate.

But extending China's territorial ambition beyond historical claims is not only disgenious, it's propaganda.

Hi, propagandist?

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#15
post #2

As I understand it, China has hypersonic missiles and nukes, whereas the US does not. Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups assuming their satellites aren't taken out first. That spells game over for US projection of power if successful. China could deploy air and submersible drones to get around downed satellites, but these have the potential of being jammed with EMP,…

Somewhat related to a China tech angle, I submitted this article about what Chinese stealth boats look like to the newest commercial radar satellites: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28686121

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#16
post #2

As I understand it, China has hypersonic missiles and nukes, whereas the US does not. Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups assuming their satellites aren't taken out first. That spells game over for US projection of power if successful. China could deploy air and submersible drones to get around downed satellites, but these have the potential of being jammed with EMP,…

> Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups If China wants to start a nuclear exchange, sure. The US probably wouldn't go nuclear in response to an invasion of Taiwan, but it absolutely would in response to a nuclear attack on US forces.

And our reality would segue into the storyline of Threads. The 1984 BBC film should be mandatory viewing for all people in positions of power. The bombing is only the start of the horror. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if they decide they want to gobble up Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, etc? Should we just sit back and say "it's not us, so this is fine?"

Does Taiwan have nukes? EDIT: google thinks no.

No, but they have been identified as a "nuclear latent state", in that they possess the capabilities to create one. How long that latency is I'm sure no one really knows.

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#18
post #10
post #2

As I understand it, China has hypersonic missiles and nukes, whereas the US does not. Should a conflict in the South China sea break out, China could nuke US carrier groups assuming their satellites aren't taken out first. That spells game over for US projection of power if successful. China could deploy air and submersible drones to get around downed satellites, but these have the potential of being jammed with EMP,…

Is the premise here that carrier groups would be survivable in the absence of hypersonic missiles? They... aren't at all, are they?

Carrier groups are supposedly survivable except for the stealth subs and hypersonic missiles but noone has tested that theory.

I wonder if the future will be just a cheap ship with a large number of single-use missile launchers.

Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden

#20

What does hypersonic mean? I thought all missiles were largely supersonic, except for maybe cruise missiles.

Reading the article or simply typing "hypersonic" into Google would've gotten you an immediate answer, but it means faster than Mach 5.
Post reply on HN