Russia closed out 2018 with an announcement of a successful test of a nuclear-capable glider that President Vladimir Putin called "a major event in the life of the armed forces and, perhaps, in the life of the country." All advanced militaries, including that of Japan, are pursuing "hypersonic" technologies, prompting fears that this will launch the next major arms race. Unfortunately, there is little appetite for arms control measures these days; that must change.
Hypersonics are extremely fast missiles — by definition, they travel at least five times the speed of sound — that can maneuver independently upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Because their flight paths are not smooth, they pose real problems for missile defense systems that track consistent parabolas or trajectories.
Early in 2018, Putin announced that Russia was developing hypersonic missiles, along with other critical technologies that would transform the strategic balance. Days before the new year, Putin revealed that his military had tested the Avanguard, which flew 20 times the speed of sound from a launch site in southwestern Russia to hit a target in the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific coast some 5,600 km away. The "wonderful, perfect New Year's gift for the country" would, he promised, be incorporated into Russia's military arsenal in 2019.
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