The U.S. Division of Protection scrubbed a take a look at launch of an undisclosed missile out of Florida’s Cape Canaveral Area Power Station earlier this month.
Airspace closure warnings issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated launch exercise scheduled for between March 2 and March 6, producing curiosity and hypothesis within the occasion, Florida Right this moment reported (opens in new tab).
Marco Langbroek, a lecturer in optical area situational consciousness on the Delft College of Know-how within the Netherlands, famous (opens in new tab) that the navigational warning drew a “forked” flight path over the north Atlantic, indicating that the mission was not a typical orbital launch exercise however extra doubtless a hypersonic missile take a look at.
Associated: Hypersonic air-breathing weapon idea passes 2nd flight take a look at
New blogpost:”A attainable (hypersonic?) missile take a look at from Cape Canaveral”https://t.co/f4xRH05UjYMarch 6, 2023
Whereas gaining consideration, nonetheless, the take a look at didn’t happen. The Workplace of the Secretary of Protection knowledgeable Florida Right this moment that, “on account of pre-flight checks, the take a look at didn’t happen.”
“Delivering hypersonic weapons stays a high precedence for the Division of Protection,” the assertion continued.
I believe LRHW take a look at. On the left is a photograph of SLC-46 on the cape. On the suitable is a render of the LRHW silo. They appear just about the identical from this angle. Left Credit score: @spacecoast_stve Proper Credit score: @LockheedMartin pic.twitter.com/YhIaohOKkeMarch 3, 2023
The character of the system to be examined was not disclosed, however obvious clues (opens in new tab) emerged on Twitter. The U.S. has been stepping up efforts to develop hypersonic weapons within the wake of obvious progress by each Russia and China on this subject.
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