Can the U.S. Defend Against a Hypersonic Missile Attack?
Heritage Explains
Heritage Podcast Network
4.7 • 847 Ratings
🗓️ 25 October 2021
⏱️ 21 minutes
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Summary
It was recently reported that China tested a new hypersonic missile in August. This nuclear-capable rocket circled the globe and apparently took U.S. intelligence by surprise. So what does this mean for the U.S.? Do we have the ability to stop a missile traveling at 10,000 miles per hour traveling through space? As we continue to see our adversaries become more forward in their development, it's important to continue asking if the U.S. is able to adequately defend against all the threats that exist. On this episode Dakota Wood talks about the state of our preparedness, and uses the 2022 Index of Military Strength to demonstrate why the U.S. is only marginally able to defend America's vital national interests.
You can read the Index here:
2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | U.S. officials tonight closely monitoring China's missile program following a report of a possibly ominous missile test. |
| 0:09.0 | The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources briefed on the intelligence, |
| 0:13.0 | reports China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August. |
| 0:17.0 | The report says the missile circled the Earth before speeding toward its target, |
| 0:21.7 | demonstrating an advanced capability in space that, quote, caught U.S. intelligence by surprise. |
| 0:46.6 | From the Heritage Foundation, I'm Tim Desher, and this is Heritage Explains. This is Heritage Explains. |
| 0:46.6 | Music Hypersonic Chinese missiles traveling at 10,000 miles per hour circling the earth. |
| 1:05.8 | Yikes. |
| 1:07.3 | The CNN report at the top of this episode is just one example of the many rising threats |
| 1:14.1 | the U.S. faces on a daily basis. |
| 1:18.9 | We may not always hear about them, but rest assured, if you can, they exist. |
| 1:26.4 | We've documented these on prior episodes of Explains, but in the face of ever-changing |
| 1:31.6 | news narrative and politics, we think it's crucial to continue to highlight and break down specific |
| 1:38.8 | instances where the U.S. is especially vulnerable. |
| 1:50.0 | Is the US ready and capable to go toe to toe with our adversaries? |
| 1:56.0 | Could we stop a hypersonic missile with a nuclear weapon attached? |
| 2:02.2 | Just how prepared is our military. |
| 2:04.7 | Are we going to go to war tomorrow? |
| 2:06.0 | I can't tell you that. |
| 2:07.6 | Well, how about three years from now? |
| 2:09.1 | Why can't predict the future either? |
| 2:12.9 | Oh, well, this is a problem that may never happen. And so we can defer major decisions to the next election cycle or the next session of Congress, right? |
... |
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