Donald Trump accuses Russia of stealing US 'super missile' plans
(Baonghean.vn)- Former US President Donald Trump claimed that Russia had achieved a technological breakthrough after stealing US "super" missile plans during President Barack Obama's term. Moscow has denied this accusation.
The former US president made the accusation during a campaign rally in New Hampshire earlier this week, when he pledged to strengthen America's strategic defense and offensive capabilities if he returns to the White House next year.
“Under my leadership, we will once again protect our people with our own missile defense system capable of shooting Chinese, Russian, and Iranian missiles out of the sky. And we will have offensive weapons that are second to none,” he said.
“You know, Russia stole a super missile, they go super fast. They stole it during the Obama administration. They stole the secret blueprints and built it,” Trump added. He did not specify which system it was.
Previously, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US is lagging behind Russia and China in the production and deployment of hypersonic weapons, while the Pentagon lacks a clear plan for deploying such systems in the country. "These weapons can strike at extremely high speeds, be launched from very long distances and avoid most air defense systems. They can carry conventional explosives or nuclear warheads. China and Russia have hypersonic weapons available for use. The US does not," the article said.
The paper highlighted the Pentagon's problems in developing hypersonic weapons that "lengthen the decision-making chain." These include failed flight tests, inadequate infrastructure needed to test hypersonic weapons, and a lack of "a clear, comprehensive plan for deployment."
The US hopes to deploy hypersonic weapons this year, but, as the Wall Street Journal writes, "progress is slowing in part because hypersonic weapons are notoriously difficult to develop."
Moscow has in its arsenal a hypersonic glide vehicle called Avangard, which is believed to be able to be deployed from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
According to the Kremlin, the weapon was developed in response to the US decision to build a national anti-ballistic missile system under President George W. Bush. Washington withdrew from the treaty with Moscow to pursue this plan. This turned out to be the first step on the path to dismantling the Cold War-era security architecture, which was established to reduce tensions between the US and the Soviet Union and minimize the risk of nuclear conflict./.
