US’s ‘DustWall’ could neutralise Hypersonic Missiles of adversaries: US think tank CSIS

Washington: – It is claimed that Russia and China have taken the lead over the United States in the race for hypersonic missiles. North Korea has also claimed to be equipped with hypersonic missiles and the United States is on its target. The US analysts have said in the past that the United States did not have the air defence system to counter these missiles. But the renowned US think tank has claimed that the ‘Dust Wall’ could neutralise these hypersonic missiles.

Moreover, the report prepared by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) cited that the ‘Dust Wall’ will be the right solution to counter the hypersonic missiles. Tom Karako and Masao Dahlgren claimed that the Dust Wall, meaning clouds created with specially processed dust particles, will act as the ‘Cannon of the 21st century’ against the threat of hypersonic missiles. They have noted this in the report released by CSIS. The companies Raytheon Technology and Lockheed Martin, leaders in the US defence manufacturing sector, are working on this project.

All the world’s leading countries have advanced and super-advanced air defence systems. The think tank pointed out that these systems can only defend against ballistic missiles. No air defence system has been developed to protect against hypersonic missiles, travelling at Mach 5 speeds, capable of changing direction and dodging the radar systems. The US Missile Defence Agency is considering a multi-layer air defence system to counter the threat of hypersonic missiles. The think tank has said that it can take a few years to develop.

The Dust Wall technology will prove more effective than this. CSIS has claimed in its report that this system if released in the direction of the enemy missile, could render it useless or change its direction. The think tank has also suggested that these particles can be metallic or Pyrotechnic. The note in the report says that this system will prove effective given the speed of the missiles.

Moreover, Hypersonic missiles are known as game-changers. As per military analysts, the tables could be turned during a war using these. Russia has Avangard hypersonic missiles. Besides, the Russian President announced a few weeks ago that they would be commissioned soon. Whereas China has also announced that the hypersonic missile prototype is ready.

In this scenario, the claim made by the US think tank that Dust Wall could be an effective solution against the hypersonic missiles become noteworthy. Surfacing the information regarding the Dust Wall when a war may be sparked between Russia and US-NATO over the Ukraine issue is not a mere coincidence. It could be a part of the US plan to issue a warning to Russia.