Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think citizens of the most violent nation in recent history should do some introspection before projecting their misdeeds onto others..
How recent is recent history?
at least a century?
Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
61–70 of 209 posts
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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. Incorrect, the USA will probably just shrug, and call in the other 11 super-carriers and 9 amphibious assault ships. At the same time they will invoke NATO article 5 and a few other Asian mutual-defence treaties. 2 UK, 1 Spanish, 1 French, and 2 Italian carriers will a…
> The trick isn't to take out one aircraft carrier: its to to be able to take them all out. Hypersonic missiles and nukes cost a lot less than a carrier. Assuming their surveillance doesn't get taken out, they can spam missiles. China will have to have good signals intelligence for this to work, though.
A nuclear attack will ensure proportional response.
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#63What does hypersonic mean? I thought all missiles were largely supersonic, except for maybe cruise missiles.
It's a speed regime. Under Mach 1 is subsonic. From Mach 0.9 through 1.2 or so is transsonic. 1.0 and greater is supersonic. Above Mach 5ish is hypersonic. Mach 25 is approximately orbital velocity, but since Mach is actually related to air pressure, it's not a very meaningful comparison except to note that anything moving that fast isn't going to be in-atmosphere for very long.
In subsonic flight, the air behaves as if it's incompressible (like a liquid).
In transonic flight, some parts of the airflow are starting to become supersonic, and compressibility starts to become a factor. Something called "wave drag" is important in this regime, as the compression wave is moving along with the aircraft.
In supersonic flow, compressibility of the air becomes the main thing and the flow is defined by the positions of the various shock waves. Ramjet engines work in this regime (the aircraft is moving fast enough that the forward movement is enough to compress the incoming air to the engine, without compressor blades). In a conventional ramjet engine, the flow within the engine is subsonic (the compressed air, being more dense, moves more slowly within the engine), so combustion works the usual way.
In hypersonic flow, temperatures are getting very high (air is heated by compression). Scramjet engines become a thing (the "SC" is for supersonic combustion: air flowing through the combustion stage at supersonic speed).
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#64As 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,…
> 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.
On the other hand, if China was to adopt the Taiwainese constitution and embrace democracy then yes, they could reunify.
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#65Interesting to ponder the US need for hypersonic capabilities. PRC + Russia needs it to asymmetrically challenge the USN. Not many time-sensitive targets for the US to hit in PRC or Russia outside of mobile TELs to take out road mobile nuclear forces. For context, US dumping ~4B into hypersonics = ~3000 JASSMs which is probably a better investment for peer naval warfare. Politically, this program feels like air force…
Would a hypersonic SAM improve CV survivability against non-hypersonic cruis missiles?
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
there is no chance a US carrier could be nuked without a proportional response
The hypersonic missle won't carry nuclear war head. The impact is enough to render a CV lose combat capability. The modern weaponry are delicate machines. A 50s computer might withstand an earthquake. The modern one probably won't survive a drop less than 1 meter.
A 50s computer would have been largely glass vacuum tubes and dropping it would cause quite a lot of problems. And a modern computer would be fine in an earthquake if it didn't fall off something or have something heavy fall on it.
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
How recent is recent history?
Clearly more recent than April 15th, 1989.
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, coup after coup in South America - you think Tiananmen was more reprehensible than any of these?
I'll also remind you Tiananmen was internal, whereas all of our wars are just that - wars. Directed against other nations.
edit: to clarify, I don't see how Tiananmen suggests China will go to war, but I do see how a sordid history of spurring violence across the globe suggests the US will go to war again.
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#68As 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,…
From what I understand, we aren't particularly afraid of hypersonic missiles because nobody even has defenses against conventional ICBMs.
Perhaps hypersonic missiles could play a part in ICBM defense. You need something very fast and maneauverable.
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think citizens of the most violent nation in recent history should do some introspection before projecting their misdeeds onto others..
"What if X happens?" "Shut up, Y is bad." Uh.
Okay, then give me the reasons to believe in imminent Chinese military aggression. And why I should take the word of a nation that has been basically ceaselessly at war for decades, off the heels of yet another senseless conflict in Afghanistan.
I think you are projecting the warlike tendencies of the US onto China.
Re: Hypersonic HAWC missile flies, but details are kept hidden
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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. Incorrect, the USA will probably just shrug, and call in the other 11 super-carriers and 9 amphibious assault ships. At the same time they will invoke NATO article 5 and a few other Asian mutual-defence treaties. 2 UK, 1 Spanish, 1 French, and 2 Italian carriers will a…
Article 5 only applies to attacks in Europe or North America. The SCS is definitely in neither.
Fair, though in practice they would join in anyway - China would be going for them next. Better to fight with the US than alone.