Publications about the new Russian hypersonic weapon, which will undermine the entire American missile defense system, are most similar to knocking out money from Congress for the needs of the Pentagon while talking about a "threat from Moscow." Meanwhile, speaking of "project 4202", alarmists are not so wrong. At least Washington really has reasons to worry.
Speaking about the mysterious Russian "Project 4202" or Ju-51 with revolutionary speed characteristics, the American media refer to Jane's Information Group and give many colorful and tragic details for the American consciousness. It is even argued that the first 25 hypersonic missiles (or some new strategic missiles with hypersonic booster blocks) should take up combat duty in the Dombarovsky regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces in the period from 2020 to 2025. For the United States (as confirmed by sources in Moscow), this would mean the destruction of the entire system of strategic nuclear weapons and missile defense.
The most important thing in information is the source. If you trust the source, you will also believe the information, no matter how fantastic it may seem initially. Washington Free Beacon is an extremely conservative publication and is directly related to the American military-industrial complex. Their idol is Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton is horror in the flesh for them, and more than half of the headings consist of horror stories about the "Russian threat", as well as the Chinese, Iranian and North Korean threats (these are specialized subsections). It is the WFB that regularly informs American readers about Russian bombers off the coast of California, Iran's underground nuclear plants and the achievements of hackers from Shanghai and Pyongyang.
At the same time, they cannot be called inventors or storytellers, just people sometimes shift accents in the required direction and exaggerate the colors. In addition, the presentation of the material sometimes changes when translated into Russian. So, in our case, almost every paragraph of the original text about "object 4202" contains the word "hypothetical". This is an important detail.
The author of the sensation is also remarkable. This is not a young journalist in search of "hot", but a venerable publicist known in the circles of intelligence and the military-industrial complex Bill Hertz, who worked as a columnist for The Washington Times under Clinton (not to be confused with the semi-official The Washington Post) and became famous for exclusive revelations on the topic intelligence, international arms trade and technology. In 1996, he opened the scheme for the supply of nuclear technologies from China to Pakistan, in 1997 he accused Russia of a similar deal with Iran, relying on the data of the Mossad (where did he get it?), In 2004 he again branded Russia for the supply of weapons of mass destruction in Syria, in 2008 was summoned to a California court in the case of a Chinese spy who stole missile technology, but refused to give his sources, citing the Fifth Amendment.
He is also the author of six books with titles such as The China Threat, Failure (about US intelligence services after 9/11), and Betrayal (about the Clinton administration). His weekly column is titled "Inside the Rings" and focuses on the everyday life of the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex (the internal structure and architecture of the building of the US Department of Defense resemble rings). No one even tries to hide his close relationship with the CIA, as well as his far-right views (he used to ruin Bill's life, and now he persistently spoils it for Hillary). So Bill Hertz will not just fantasize on a given topic, his reputation is dearer to him.
At the same time, the sensation about the "object 4202" is not such a sensation. Projects of devices capable of 5-7 times the speed of sound have been developed in the USSR and the USA in parallel since the 1980s. The USSR was the first to succeed: a hypersonic experimental aircraft (GELA), aka X-90 was created by the Raduga Design Bureau already in the late 80s, but in 1992 the project was closed for obvious reasons. From him remained a model, which for some reason was exhibited at the MAKS in Zhukovsky several times, although no work on the topic was carried out until the 2000s.
Apparently, they were exhibited. The American current analogue of the X-51 strikingly resembles the Soviet project, even outwardly forgotten. If (according to unconfirmed reports) the Soviet rocket developed a straight line speed of 10,000 kilometers per hour (it was dropped in the stratosphere from an airplane), then the American analogue accelerated to 11,200 from the third time (the first launches were not very successful). Now in the USA (already according to official data) it is planned to achieve a stable speed of 5-6 sound. In theory, the X-51 should replace modern ballistic missiles in 10-15 years.
The Americans are betting on hypersonic missiles when planning the strategy of the so-called rapid global strike (BGU) - the application of a single missile salvo of the maximum damaging effect on the objects of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces and control centers. If it is necessary to eliminate the Russian strategic nuclear component and paralyze the power in one move, this requires exactly hypersonic missiles carrying a nuclear charge, albeit a small one. This is the modern concept of atomic war as viewed from the Pentagon.
So far, the combat use of anything hypersonic is impossible for objective reasons. Theoretically, it is quite possible to raise such a thing into low-earth orbit - and toss it down. But no one has yet learned how to drive it at a speed of more than 10,000 kilometers per hour. There is also no guarantee that the slightest deviation from a straight line in dense layers of the atmosphere will not break the head part, obeying the laws of physics. In addition, Americans have traditional problems with fast-burning fuel and engines in general - they do not get them. This is the result of an excessive enthusiasm for manned space shuttles, as a result, the design idea in rocketry stalled, engines have to be bought in Russia despite the sanctions.
The last two tests of the X-51 (in 2011 and 2012) were a failure. The first missile received an order to self-destruct precisely because of control problems, and the second one went completely crazy. According to a number of data, now the United States has serious problems with the further development of hypersonic missiles - and this is when all programs related to the BSU strategy are being actively reanimated.
The general message from Bill Hertz's column is that these Russians are again ahead of us and (hypothetically) in 10 years will put a hypersonic missile on alert. Some details, clearly taken from the ceiling (such as indications of Dombarovsky, aka Yasnensky training ground in the Orenburg region as a location), are intended to add credibility. From the same ceiling, perhaps, the figure of 25 vehicles, for some reason tied to the Sarmat rocket, was taken. Given Bill Hertz's reputation as an author who kicks open any door to the CIA, the American reader should take all these details as, shall we say, grounded and close to reality. Nice move. The article, of course, does not say in plain text: Congress, give the Pentagon more money for a hypersonic missile, otherwise Clinton will come and generally take everything away, but this is precisely the subtext. Everyone should be frightened by the new species form of the Russian threat, from which there is no protection.
Meanwhile, Bill Hertz, although he pursues his own goals, is not so wrong. According to some reports, in Russia, work on the creation of a new hypersonic missile (or even a whole family of vehicles with similar characteristics) resumed five years ago and is very active. They even employ several design bureaus at once, and not as in the USSR - only "Rainbow". And it is quite possible that experimental launches can actually be carried out. Whether this unit is called Ju-71 or something else is a secondary question. But if it is really capable of developing a speed of 11,200 kilometers per hour in dense layers of the atmosphere (that is, the same as the stalled American project), this is a serious breakthrough. At least, this is a real opportunity to reach a new level of technology, which will leave far behind the entire current and even promising American missile defense system. But it is still too early to say anything definite about this.
