Article

2010-04-28 Science & Technology

Pentagon's Mach 20 Glider Disappears, Whacking Global Strike' Plans

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Posted by Uncle Phester 2010-04-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top

#1 it just keeps feeling like 1978 more and more

Posted by abu do you love 2010-04-28 00:15|| 2010-04-28 00:15|| Front Page Top

#2 That's pretty damn fast, at least it doesn't seem they are giving up yet.

Posted by Phiter Stalin5608 2010-04-28 01:53|| 2010-04-28 01:53|| Front Page Top

#3 What a whiny bitch of an article. Oh dear, it didn't work the first. Let's just quit in the face of this horrible setback.

Posted by SteveS 2010-04-28 07:47|| 2010-04-28 07:47|| Front Page Top

#4 Peace dividends anyone? Those dollars are needed in ~~Chicago~~ inner city "family planning clinics." Military stuff is icky.

Posted by Besoeker 2010-04-28 07:57|| 2010-04-28 07:57|| Front Page Top

#5 I don't know about disappeared. You can bet it was under radar surveillance the whole time, even if comms was lost. Not hard to do in Mach 20 plasma. The radar telemetry will tell if the HSV followed the programmed flight profile.

Posted by ed 2010-04-28 07:59|| 2010-04-28 07:59|| Front Page Top

#6 Did it burn up in flight? At Mach 20 wouldn't it have made quite a bang if it made it down?

Posted by Glenmore 2010-04-28 08:29|| 2010-04-28 08:29|| Front Page Top

#7 Pluto called. They want you to come get your glider.

Posted by gorb 2010-04-28 09:49|| 2010-04-28 09:49|| Front Page Top

#8 Pluto called.

The last thing we need is Mickey's dog chewing up our high tech airframes.

Posted by SteveS 2010-04-28 12:43|| 2010-04-28 12:43|| Front Page Top

#9 I like Steve's take on this. Unless you TEST something you will not know how is works or what doesn't work. Refine, reload, and try again.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2010-04-28 15:22|| 2010-04-28 15:22|| Front Page Top

#10 But it also needs to be cost effective. A $100 million per shot (ICBM booster plus hypersonic vehicle), costing more than the target, does not meet that criteria.

Posted by ed 2010-04-28 15:28|| 2010-04-28 15:28|| Front Page Top

#11 Yeah, but if something reusable like the X-37B can be sent up with 4 or 6 of the gliders, dispense them as / when needed, and then return, it starts to get a bit cheaper...

Posted by M. Murcek 2010-04-28 17:25|| 2010-04-28 17:25|| Front Page Top

#12 D *** NG IT, sounds like another OLD DREAM/VISION of mine, but that as they say is another story.

"GLOBAL STRIKE" > Pragmatically, IMO this is one reason why JAPAN should give or sell the BONINS/VOLCANO ISLANDS to the USA in return for a tote US pullout from OKINAWA [save for contigency]. Since various local Guam Perts had argued or theorized over the years that the BONINS are geologically part of the MARIANAS CHAIN, the US CAN FORWARD-DEPLOY POTENT GMD-TMD ASSETS, e.g. BMD MISSLES + UAVS + ARMED BMD DIRIGIBLES, ON REMOTE IWO JIMA NOW A US TERRITORY, etc. as opposed to basing in GUAM'S RADIO BARRIGADA + OTHER SCARCE LOCAL LANDS WHICH CAN BE USED FOR OTHER NON-MIL PURPOSES.

Iff the USDOD + DARPA-JPL during the Cold War can dev designs for basing IRBMS or ICBMS on EARTH-ORBITING SATELLITES, IT CAN DO THE SAME FOR FORWARD-DEPLOYED ADVANCED DIRIGIBLES IN ROUTINE OR STATIC PATROL OVER REMOTE VOLCANIC ISLANDS WID LITTLE TO NO HUMAN POPULATION SAVE FOR SEABIRDS, MARINE LIFE + ASSIGNED MILITARY-GOVT MEMBERS.

The USDOD will still have SOUTH KOREA, TAIWAN, + EMERGENCY BASE USE RIGHTS wid JAPAN as per its former Okinawa milbases. GUAM-CNMI should become a DE FACTO US STATE IN WESTPAC, WILL GET BACK ANCESTRAL ISLANDS VIA MERGER WID THE BONINS, + THE USDOD SHOULD BASE RAPID REAX CONTINGEN MILFORCES OR ASSETS O GUAM-CNMI N SUPPORT OF LOCOL ECONOMIES.

WIN-WIN-WIN for everybody until some Politician(s) decide to destroy it because it makes too much common sense + honesty.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2010-04-28 19:45|| 2010-04-28 19:45|| Front Page Top

#13 Whatever happened to the "Rods from God" idea? They come down at about the same speed as Mach 20.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-04-28 20:17|| 2010-04-28 20:17|| Front Page Top

#14 Whatever happened to the "Rods from God" idea?

X-37B payload.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-04-28 20:29|| 2010-04-28 20:29|| Front Page Top

#15 ION TOPIX > PALAU SENATE ASKS US TO CONSIDER ANGAUR AS FUTENMA RELOCATION SITE.

* WMF > WAR INEVITABLE? IRANIAN DEV OF LR IRBMS AND ICBMS MAY FORCE THE US-ISRAEL TO ATTACK IN 2011 OR 2013; + A NEW VIETNAM? US-ISRAELI STRIKE, INVASION OF IRAN WILL START A LONG GROUND WAR OF CONVENTIONAL BATTLES MIXED WITH "PEOPLE'S WAR" OF RESISTANCE. US WILL FALL INTO NATIONAL, GEOPOL DECLINE WHILE CHINA RISES TO SUPERPOWER.

* SAME > TERRIBLE/FEARFUL REPUTATION FOR PLA'S HAINAN ISLAND BASE: RAPID CONTROL OF SOUTH CHINA SEAS FOR CHINA'S SUBMARINES.

* SAME > INDIAN MEDIA: CHINESE MIL BUILDUP AIMS FOR REGIONAL ISOLATION, BLOCKADE OF INDIA.

* IIRC PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > CHINA APPROVES OF PAK PROPOSAL FOR TRI-NATIONAL COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AFGHANISTAN.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2010-04-28 22:58|| 2010-04-28 22:58|| Front Page Top

23:52 ed
23:48 ed
23:47 phil_b
23:43 ed
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23:36 OldSpook
23:35 Atomic Conspiracy
23:33 JosephMendiola
23:31 logi_cal
23:15 DMFD
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23:10 trailing wife
22:59 phil_b
22:58 JosephMendiola
22:47 logi_cal
22:39 gorb
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22:18 JohnQC
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