Washington to test 2nd near-space super weapon
Baku, December 3 (AZERTAC). The US Department of Defense is set to conduct its second test of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) next year, the Washington Times reported Friday.
The $308 million Falcon HTV-2 is a key element of the Pentagon`s Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) capability - a program to build non-nuclear strategic weapons that can strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour, the newspaper said.
Some Chinese analysts warn that the Falcon HTV-2 could seriously endanger other countries` security and might lead to an arms space race.
The reports of the planned test came after the US Senate sounded a negative note earlier this month over the ratification of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the US and Russia that restricts each nation to a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads, according to AFP.
Russia raised its concerns over the new weapons during recent talks with the US upon the signing of the new START, and US officials had promised to discuss the issue in a treaty consultation commission.
The Washington Times reported that some proposals for CPGS systems, such as putting conventional warheads on existing submarine-launched ballistic missiles, would count against the limits set by START.
Fretting about the possibility that other nuclear-armed nations will mistake the launch of such weapons as the Falcon HTV-2 for a nuclear strike, Congressional and other opposition killed a previous proposal to achieve CPGS capability by fitting conventional warheads to ballistic missiles launched by US submarines.
"The emergence of the Falcon HTV-2 marks a complete transformation of traditional models of military strikes and will pose a grave threat to other countries," said Li Daguang, a military expert at the PLA National Defense University. "Once the US fully acquires CGPS capability, it will defi-nitely disrupt the global military balance and might trigger another arms race."
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