Hypersonic flying bomb tested successfully by the Pentagon

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/20/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Military planners now have ability to strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour

In a move that significantly ups U.S. military might, the Pentagon successfully tested the flight of a flying bomb that travels faster than the speed of sound. The development will now grant military planners the ability to strike targets anywhere across the globe in less than an hour.

The Pentagon has invested $239.9 million dollars in the Global Strike program in 2011, including 69 million for the flying bomb this week.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Launched by rocket from Hawaii, the "Advanced Hypersonic Weapon," or AHW, flew through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean "at hypersonic speed" before hitting its target on the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands. Kwajalein is about 2,500 miles 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 an hour.

The test aimed to gather data on "aerodynamics, navigation, guidance and control, and thermal protection technologies," Lieutenant Colonel Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.

The US Army's AHW project is part of the "Prompt Global Strike" program which seeks to give the U.S. military the means to deliver conventional weapons anywhere in the world within an hour.

The Pentagon test previously flew another hypersonic glider dubbed HTV-2, which is capable of flying 27,000 kilometers per hour, but it was a failure.

The AHW's range is less than that of the HTV-2, the Congressional Research Service said in a report, without providing specifics.

The Pentagon has invested $239.9 million dollars in the Global Strike program in 2011, including 69 million for the flying bomb this week.

� 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Keywords: Pentagon, hypersonic, bombs

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1 - 10 of 12 Comments

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1 year ago
Fr. Gene Barrette, God has blessed us with a sword to defend us against our enemies who desire nothing more than to kill you and me. Perhaps you would do well to campaign against the "Weapon of Mass Destruction" called abortion. This weapon of mass destruction has murdered more children than all those who died in World War II.
Fr. Gene Barrette
1 year ago
Are not other Gospel and committed pro-life Catholics bewildered and offended that this article does not even hint at the connection between this and our commitment to compassion for the lives of our brothers and sisters? The inconsistency and lack of coherence in our teaching is what accounts for many distancing themselves from an Institution that makes life-proclamations yet continues to live with such tunnel vision that has Abba the Father and Jesus weeping because of the continued ripping apart of bodies given life and purpose - those already out of the womb. The Holy Spirit may well be wondering where its "ru'ah" breath of life is going - certainly not into technological weapons of mass destrucation with their collateral damage and encouragement of the culture of death. But the news report here did appear to me to be quite congratulatory.
I can only say - "Shame" Or God is perhaps saying, "My people, my people, what are you doing with the incredible gifts for life that I have poured into you - to build my kingdon on earth as it is in heaven ....... my people, my people.... what have I done to you?"
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1 year ago
This is great news. Our enemies will think twice before they decide to attack us. I would like to remind all the fools who say we don't need a military that the Russians have thousands of nuclear warheads aimed at you and me. The Russians have many submarines parked off our shore with hundreds of warheads with your name and mine written on them. The North Koreans are working day and night to come up with a missile that is capable of striking the US. And now we have our Dear Friends the Iranians who are working day and night to develop a nuclear bomb with our names written on it. So, for you fools who think that this new weapon is so terrible, just remember, this weapon just might save your pathetic hide from nuclear incineration.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
I agree with the other comments, except Metanoia... first of all, Lenin was not shot. He died of stroke-related problems. Second of all, his rule may or may not have been better for Russia than Tsar Nicholas II's, but he still killed a lot of people. I'm going to guess, from your talk of US imperialism and your apparently positive view of Lenin, that you have Marxist leanings of some sort. Because Stalin's mass killings are so obvious to the world today, it's easy to think of Lenin and Trotsky as good guys by comparison who tragically lost control of a true revolution. But in reality they both supported state-sanctioned terrorism and other acts of violence and repression, all in the name of communism - the greater good. I won't deny that there's some truth to the statement that "America is extremely aggressive", but don't make the mistake of turning to communism. Most Trotskyists, even while denouncing the brutalities of Stalin, would choose his rule over capitalism.
robert matzinger
1 year ago
239 million in this "Global Strike Program."Who do we plan on striking with a hypersonic weapon? I wonder how many jobs could have been created for 239 million?
Answer to Jim Kate
1 year ago
We need to care for the sick, infirm and elderly. This is the mandate given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ. America is a house of cards and is a structure built upon perversity, greed and corruption. America represents political nihilism.
Nobody
1 year ago
We need to STOP exploiting nature / re-create it: a Genesis project !

Don't know who Jim Kate is.

We need to STOP exploiting nature and re-create it !
Christopher J. Daly
1 year ago
Whenever I hear of great strides by the Pentagon in developing new far-reaching weaponry I think of the Pogo cartoon wherein it is stated, "We have met the enemy and he is us." The Occupy Movement bewails the austerity that most Americans are living under and I could give my own testimonial to this fact as well. Didn't Eisenhower state as he was leaving office to beware of the "military-industrial complex"? Yet, no one pays any heed. Why? Einstein said, "We know what World War III will be fought with but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will intercede in the Holy Name of Jesus to bring cooler heads and a saner vision to our national priorities.
METANOIA
1 year ago
This is a horror story, and suggests the end of the world. When Lenin took over he promised to end WWI, keeping military activity limited to revolutionary Russia. Sadly, he was shot.

America is to be pitied as a state. Material equality is seen as an act of perversity. I thought Obama, being nearly black, would help, but he is unable to bring about change. I believe I have heard his prayer for change, but now he knows that it can't happen. He is to be pitied. Historically, he stands beside J.F. Kennedy, who also wanted and needed change. I don't understand American politics, and never will. I do understand one thing, though, I understand aggression, and America is extremely aggressive. America should be split up into small countries which can be self-determinating, rather than be a large hyper-imperialist force. This would reduce their sense of inner alienation and their experience of depersonalized emotion.
Jim Kate
1 year ago
This achievement is all well and fine, if it were enough to guarantee peace in the world, but it isn't. Just imagine how much better off the US would be if half the money spent on the project were used to "take care of our own" in work, food and housing care for the elderly, disabled and neediest Americans. If this were the case,the project would take a bit longer to complete due to slower development from slower funding, and untimely get finished in the end - but we would "have our cake and eat it too". We cannot shut down the Pentagon, but need to take care of ourselves much better than the growing ghettos show. The mark of great societies are based on taking care of the infirm, elderly and so on.

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