| New
US defence spending bill seeks to finance wars of the future
14 November 2007
Washington
DC: The Pentagon has been sanctioned billions of dollars by the US Congress
in a new $459 billion (£221.5 billion) defence spending Bill, to develop
new forms of space warfare weapons, intended to counter growing risk of missile
attacks from "rogue states" as well as the "satellite killer"
capabilities of potential adversaries, such as China. The sanctions are indicative
of the fact that the US has now begun to look past wars, as they are being fought
in Iraq and Afghanistan, to wars as they will be fought in the future. The
most ambitious project is the Falcon, a reusable "hypersonic vehicle"
that could fly at six times the speed of sound and deliver 12,000lb of bombs anywhere
in the world within minutes. Though costs of the Falcon have not been revealed,
Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials have said that a first
test flight was scheduled for next year. According
to analysts, the project aims to attack "time sensitive targets" in
States, which have either developed nuclear weapons without international approval
or are suspected of doing so. The war scenario in such cases would involve destroying
targets within minutes and hours, but such capability is not feasible from current
US bases. A
hypersonic vehicle launched from a base in the Middle East or Asia could be over
hostile territory within minutes to destroy targets. DARPA
is also developing a small, unmanned launch vehicle that would provide "responsive
and affordable" access to Space, for less than $5 million per launch. The
first test flight was made in March this year. The launch vehicle would be capable
of re-launching satellites that had been attacked, or act as a fast-moving replacement
for a damaged satellite with intelligence sensors of its own that could identify
enemy installations.  Congress
awarded $150 million for the Falcon project and its associated "prompt global
strike" programme. The "global strike" platform would give America
the "forward presence" it requires around the world without the need
for overseas bases.
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