Is this the final hammering deterrent to excess militarism in the world as the US cuts deeply into its military budget, or the beginning of the F*CKING Space Arms Race? :fume:
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Thursday held a successful test flight of a flying bomb that travels faster than the speed of sound and will give military planners the ability to strike targets anywhere in the world in less than a hour.
Launched by rocket from Hawaii at 1130 GMT, the “Advanced Hypersonic Weapon,” or AHW, glided through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific “at hypersonic speed” before hitting its target on the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands, a Pentagon statement said.
Kwajalein is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii. The Pentagon did not say what top speeds were reached by the vehicle, which unlike a ballistic missile is maneuverable.
Scientists classify hypersonic speeds as those that exceed Mach 5 – or five times the speed of sound – 3,728 miles (6,000 kilometers) an hour.[/quote]
Tell that to any naval vessel in the South China Sea.
[quote=“Tempo Gain”]If it works. Ballistic missiles are pretty reliable.
We’ve been experimenting with this hypersonic stuff for a while though. Looks like they decided to skip the plane and go straight to the bomb.[/quote]
Why not? Save a step and turn ultimate power into a video game.
Toffler said this long ago, that he who rules the skies. rules. Is this a Sputnik moment?
Nah, those guys kill pretty much indiscriminately. I’ll give them that. I never really had any of that inter-service rivalry and could get along with all of them, except possibly the flared denim pants wearing Navy ship boys and the entire Air Force.
I had a friend in the Naval Shore Patrol. One of my more jar headed colleagues once called him a f*ckin squid and without missing a beat he said, What’s a squid but a creature that floats around shitting on marine life?
Kaffee: “Have I done something to offend you?” Kendrick: “No, I like all you Navy boys.
Anytime we gotta go someplace to fight, you fellas always give us a ride. …” ~“A Few Good Men”
[quote=“TheGingerMan”]Kaffee: “Have I done something to offend you?” Kendrick: “No, I like all you Navy boys.
Anytime we gotta go someplace to fight, you fellas always give us a ride. …” ~“A Few Good Men”[/quote]
Yeah, but those poor swabbies get theirs, too. HMS Sheffield.
Was going to post the General Belgrano, but its too horrible. GOTCHA! was the Sun headline the next day, those filthy cocksuckers of the fourth estate. 275 Argentine men and boys were killed. Navy gets theirs.
I had a friend in the Naval Shore Patrol. One of my more jar headed colleagues once called him a f*ckin squid and without missing a beat he said, What’s a squid but a creature that floats around shitting on marine life?
That’s a good looking fella in the front there, saddles.
Sandy, I’m just giving the swabbies a good razzing.
There’s a reason Marines hate those god damned giant floating targets and would rather take their chances in amphibious attack vehicles on a beach being bombarded by enemy fire.
Same goes for me. I give all branches the same level of invective. Inter-service one-upmanship has led to some life long friendships.
I have the utmost respect for any chaps that’s been in any armed service. Most especially those wot’s been under fire. Have never been involved with any altercation with any Navy Chaps in any posting.
As if I could readily forget the lessons of history taught by Trafalgar, Midway, Leponto, to name but a few.To say nothing of the Norsemen, part of my heritage nonetheless…
Personally, I could never have been anything but a landlubber. I need terrain, however indistinguishable, to maintain the perimeter.
As for the Marine/Squid element, it’s always amusing to witness a mouth biting the very hands that feed.
Myself, I save my most special invective for MPs and Quartermasters…The smaller the army the tighter the bond, yet more scathing the epithet…
HuzzaH!
[quote]As for the Marine/Squid element, it’s always amusing to witness a mouth biting the very hands that feed.
Myself, I save my most special invective for MPs and Quartermasters…The smaller the army the tighter the bond, yet more scathing the epithet…
HuzzaH![/quote]
Ahhh, the brevity!
Ahhhh, the wit!
Not one thing could top that shit!
I don’t think that I have EVER had as much much absolute fun and joy as I had when sitting around the jarhead table at the Yokosuka Club on any given night.
I have the utmost respect for anybody who is shooting at members of the armed services, fairs fair and all that. Glorifying military might is a facist exercise.
As for the hypersonic rocket, the civilian application are FAR more interesting. NASA has attempted many hypersonic flights but they have failed previously. ICBMs and cruise missiles and drone fired missiles do the same thing in practice as this hypersonic rocket.
No doubt. For a bunch of damn jarheads, those lot sure come up with some fancy lingo.
Personally, any more than one drunken marine is going to make my brain hurt, having to listen to their banter.
I don’t think so. ICBMs can do the same thing but ICBM launches are easily detected (right?) and have potentially extremely dangerous implications. Cruise missiles and drones are far slower.
I don’t think so. ICBMs can do the same thing but ICBM launches are easily detected (right?) and have potentially extremely dangerous implications. Cruise missiles and drones are far slower.[/quote]
Sure and just wait until these bitches are on subs! [quote=“TheGingerMan”]
Personally, any more than one drunken marine is going to make my brain hurt, having to listen to their banter.[/quote]
Shit. You’ve been there before. Enjoy it.
