Former President Donald Trump unveiled a new military policy as part of his 2024 presidential campaign this week, proposing to develop “a state-of-the-art, next-generation missile defense shield” to protect the United States from hypersonic missiles.
‘Vastly More Dangerous’
Trump alleged that the world has become “vastly more dangerous” under President Joe Biden and said that there is a danger of nuclear and hypersonic missiles due to the present political climate.“Hypersonic missiles move at many times the speed of sound and six times faster than current missiles. Armed with nuclear weapons, they could annihilate entire cities and even countries within minutes, and we can not let this happen,” Trump said.
He said the threat is rising because other world leaders don’t have respect for the current president, and if the United States becomes involved in a war, it would likely dwarf World War I and World War II.
“The best way to ensure that such a conflict never happens is to be prepared with unmatched technology and unrivaled strength,” Trump said.
The former president went on to promise that if elected again, he would work with Congress and military leaders to create a “state-of-the-art, next-generation missile defense shield.”
Chinese Missile Advances
The Chinese regime has made notable developments in hypersonic missiles over the past few years.In 2021 the world was shocked and Pentagon officials were blindsided by reports that a Chinese missile circled the Earth before descending near the target.
Since then, the US and China have both worked relentlessly to improve their hypersonic capabilities, and one analyst believes the United States is losing the race.
“China has effectively taken the lead in the hypersonic weapons race due to the breadth and depth of its technology investments,” said Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a security-focused think tank.
“We are only seeing the beginning of their weapons developments in this field.”
Fisher observes that the United States and China are racing to build hypersonic weapons, and who deploys them first may determine who guides the international order in future decades.
“We must be able to defend our homeland, our allies, and our military assets around the world from the threat of hypersonic missiles no matter where they are launched from,” Trump said near the end of his comments.
“We will have peace through strength.”
