US Space Force To Counter Hypersonic Weapons Threat - Shanahan

The United States will use its new space force military branch to counter the threat of hypersonic weapons systems that are being developed by China and Russia, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2019) The United States will use its new space force military branch to counter the threat of hypersonic weapons systems that are being developed by China and Russia, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Wednesday.

"We put together a roadmap, and the roadmap was about how do we leverage space to reduce threats to the United States," Shanahan said during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The first element on the roadmap is how do we counter hypersonics that are a risk to our men and women and to our homeland.

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On March 1, the Defense Department announced that it has sent its legislative proposal for the creation of a new separate Space Force to Congress.

The department said in a report in August 2018 that the Space Force's capability development efforts would focus on global surveillance for missile targeting and other priorities. The report also named Russia and China as key threats to US space capabilities.

Tests of hypersonic gliders by China and Russia have prompted the United States within the past year to revive a long-stalled effort to develop hypersonics, according to Pentagon officials.