According to Mark Lewis, a former Pentagon official and polar weapons expert, the US needs to increase funding and support for the development of advanced hypersonic weapons to counter similar programs in China and Russia.
He said he hopes the Trump administration will prioritize these key areas of defense technology.
“I'm very bullish on hypersonics… I think we'll see very stable and consistent funding,” Lewis said in a live webinar hosted on March 24th. SpaceNews.
Lewis is currently president and CEO of the non-profit Purdue Applied Research Institute.
Sensitive Weapons – Missiles or vehicles that can travel at least five times faster at speeds above Mach 5 are increasingly seen as a key component of modern military strategy due to their ability to avoid traditional defense systems.
The Pentagon expects China and Russia to slide towards our targets and target us and allied forces, rocket-firing weapons piloted by air forces. The combination of high speed and maneuverability makes intercepting using traditional defense systems particularly difficult.
As these countries advance their polar missile programmes, the Pentagon is facing increasing pressure to accelerate its own development efforts, Lewis said. To protect the US homeland from these threats, the administration is also intended to develop a layered defense system of sensors and interceptor missiles known as the Golden Dome.
Lewis noted strong support within the Pentagon for investment in polar weapons technology, as it offers opportunities to leverage private investments in commercial testing vehicles that could accelerate next-generation missile development.
The key advocates for these programs are co-founders and Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg; Former CEO of Cerberus Capital Management. The private equity company has acquired companies with hypersensitivity flight testing operations, including Stratolaunch, which operates reusable high-sonic test vehicles, and Stratolaunch, which operates a wind tunnel company.
“We have important people who are in the role of government in understanding the importance of hypersonics,” Lewis said.
Support for Hi-Sonic research extends to Capitol Hill. There, Sen. Jim Banks (R-ind.) is an important advocate. Indiana has both Purdue University and the Naval Water Surface War Center Crane Division.
“We have peer competitors who have revealed they are developing and deploying high-sonic weapons, and we know we're playing a game that catches up,” Lewis warned.
Defensive challenges
Developing the proposed Golden Dome defense system poses important technical challenges. Lewis admitted that hyper-silent missiles are “very difficult to stop,” but he insisted that “it's not impossible to stop.”
A network of space-based sensors and advanced missiles that can be used to successfully intercept the threat of postponement is required. “There's a simple rule of thumb that a defender trying to stop an attacker must be about three times more mobility than what they're trying to stop,” Lewis explained. “So, it's technically challenging, but not impossible.”
Alternate approaches include directional energy weapons, such as high-power lasers designed to blind missile sensors rather than completely destroying missiles.
Lewis emphasized that the Golden Dome must be a layered defense system that can counter not only individual weapons but also coordinated attacks. “They wouldn't shoot one or two. They'd shoot us a salvos,” he said.
“We need to continue to investigate all of these different options before we reach the final system architecture,” Lewis concluded.
