US Cannot Repel An Iranian Missile Attack: Pentagon Admits "Hypersonic Defences Inadequate"

US Cannot Repel An Iranian Missile Attack: General, Pentagon Admits "Hypersonic Defences Inadequate" - YouTube

Pentagon officials admitted during a US Congressional hearing that America’s skies are defenceless against Russian and Iranian missiles. The admission came during the hearing of US Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. The subcommittee chairman Angus King posed some tough questions to senior pentagon officials at the hearing on May 8.

 #usa #pentagon #russia #iran #israel #biden n18oc_world n18oc_crux

• 0:00 INTRODUCTION 
• 1:04 “NO DEFENCE FOR HYPERSONIC MISSILES…” 
• 2:38 CAN US DEFEND AGAINST VOLLEY OF IRANIAN MISSILES?  
• 4:08 US ARMY TO UPGRADE M270 ARTILLERY SYSTEMS  
• 5:15 B-2 BOMBER, F-35, F-15 JETS APPROVED TO CARRY NUKE BOMBS

Summary

The United States is vulnerable  to hypersonic missile attacks, particularly from Russia and Iran. Key points:

1. During a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing, Pentagon officials admitted that America's defenses against hypersonic missiles are inadequate.
2. Senator Angus King questioned the U.S.'s ability to defend against a hypersonic missile attack, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
3. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense, John Hill, acknowledged that while the U.S. has some terminal stage systems, more are needed to counter the hypersonic missile threat.
4. Senator King expressed concern over the lack of sufficient funding in the Biden administration's 2025 missile defense budget to address this growing threat.
5. Russia has claimed significant advances in hypersonic missile development and deployment, with reports of a hypersonic Zircon missile hitting Kyiv in February.
6. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 has posed challenges for the Defense Department in allocating resources to improve hypersonic missile defenses due to spending limits and inflation pressures.

Sen. King calls for more to be done to protect US from hypersonic missiles

Alison Murtagh, WGME

wgme.com

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Senator Angus King is calling for more to be done to keep the U.S. safe from a new class of high-tech missiles. (Senator Angus King's Office)

TOPICS:

Hypersonic missilesSenator KingU.S.DefenseSenate Armed Forces CommitteeRussiaChinaBudget

PORTLAND (WGME) – Senator Angus King is calling for more to be done to keep the U.S. safe from a new class of high-tech missiles.

In a hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, the senator questioned if the U.S. could defend itself against a "hypersonic missile," one which travels more than five times the speed of sound at the edge of space and is very difficult to track.

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“We have some systems in the terminal stage, but we need more,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense John Hill said. “You are correct, Senator King, that our hypersonic defenses are inadequate.”

“Why are we talking about 2029 and even stretching that out? This is next year kind of stuff. I don't get the budget,” King said.

King recently expressed his concerns with Russia and China’s development of hypersonic missiles, which he calls a "nightmare weapon" and described as "strategic game changers."

 

U.S. hypersonic defenses ‘inadequate,’ Pentagon official says

washingtontimes.com

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National Security Editor Guy Taylor.

A top Pentagon official admits U.S. defenses against Russian hypersonic missiles are “inadequate.” A Senate Armed Services hearing turned heated this week when Strategic Forces subcommittee Chairman Sen. Angus King laid into Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense John Hill about why the Biden administration’s 2025 missile defense budget request falls far short on funding the senator said was needed to meet the growing threat of hypersonic missiles from foreign adversaries — in particular, Russia.

“We have no defense for hypersonic missiles, yes or no? Mr. Hill? Any defense on hypersonic missiles?” Mr. King pressed during one exchange. If Russia launches a hypersonic missile traveling 6,000 miles per hour and “you are the commander of an aircraft carrier in the Greenland gap. … What do you do?” Mr. Hill responded: “We have some systems in the terminal stage, but we need more. You are correct — … our hypersonic defenses are inadequate. … No argument, we need to focus on hypersonic defenses.” Mr. King, a Maine independent who caucuses with the Democrats, then stressed that “this is next-year kind of stuff. I don’t get the budget.” Russia has claimed significant advances in hypersonic missile development and deployment programs in recent years. Ukrainian researchers said in February that Russian forces had hit Kyiv with a hypersonic Zircon missile.

US hypersonic missile defense 'inadequate' due to Fiscal Responsibility Act issues, Pentagon says By Madeleine Hubbard justthenews.com If Russia were to launch a hypersonic missile, the U.S. would face issues deflecting it, Hill said. Article Dig Deeper A top Pentagon official told Congress that U.S. hypersonic missile defense systems are "inadequate" at least in part due to struggles that the Defense Department is facing due to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.  John Hill, the space and missile defense deputy assistant secretary, revealed the concerning vulnerability during an exchange with Senate Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chair Angus King, I-Maine at a hearing Wednesday. If Russia were to launch a hypersonic missile from the western city of Murmansk, the U.S. would face issues deflecting it, Hill said in response to a question from King. "The truth is, we have no defense for hypersonic missiles, yes or no?" King asked Hill. "You are the Commander of an aircraft carrier in the Greenland gap. A hypersonic missile launch from Murmansk [travels] 6000 miles per hour. What do you do?" "We have some systems in the terminal stage, but we need more. You are correct, Sen. King, that our hypersonic defenses are inadequate," Hill responded. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed last year to avoid a government default, places limits on discretionary defense spending. The law, combined with the pressures of inflation, has posed challenges for the Defense Department, Hill also said. "What we faced in this year and in the budget this year, it was difficult with the Fiscal Responsibility Act we had to work with. We had to pay bills and had to go in on the personnel, salaries, health care, inflation costs," he said.  Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.