Title: Space Fighters: "Space-based**" Could Subvert the Rules of War.
Introduction: Western countries led by the United States have imposed economic sanctions on Russia for seven years, which has led to the deterioration of Russia's economic structure and its heavy dependence on oil and arms exports. In order to defend national defense and security, Russia has developed a large number of hypersonic equipment, demonstrating a huge military gap that worries the US military. However, what is remarkable is that the US military is quietly developing space fighters that can subvert the rules of war.
In recent years, the United States and its Western allies have imposed seven-year economic sanctions on Russia, which has led to the deterioration of Russia's domestic economic structure, which is particularly dependent on oil and gas and arms exports. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's manufacturing industry has partially shrunk, mainly in the fields of oil, gas, petrochemicals and military industry. Foreign exchange reserves are mainly used for oil, gas and arms exports, and Russia's economic situation is getting worse by the continued repressive blockade of the West.
Since 2014, the manipulation of oil by Western countries has directly impacted Russia's gross domestic product, resulting in a deterioration of Russia's living conditions, and at the same time cutting Russia's military budget. In 2019, Russia's military spending was only $49 billion.
In this case, in order to defend national defense security, Russia began to massively develop asymmetric equipment, the vast majority of which is hypersonic. For example, the Kh-47M2 "Dagger" missile developed by Russia is an air-launched version of the "Iskander" ballistic missile, with a maximum range of more than 2,000 kilometers. In addition, Russia has Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers and MiG-31K interceptors, which can accelerate to Mach 10 at the maximum speed of the aircraft and deliver precision strikes against enemy targets.
The Russian Navy has 3M22 "Zircon" hypersonic anti-ship missiles with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, which even exceeds the combat radius of the US F-35B stealth carrier-based fighter. At the same time, the maximum penetration speed of the missile reaches Mach 8.
At the same time, the US military has realized the huge gap between itself and Russia in the field of hypersonic ** and has invested heavily in the development of such equipment. However, even for many years, the development of the US military in this area has not progressed to the level of real combat. For example, the X-51A hypersonic vehicle, which was successfully tested by the US military 11 years ago, has not yet been able to achieve the first-class goal at Mach 6 speed, which lasts for 300 seconds. The fastest progressing AGM-183A air-launched hypersonic missile failed miserably during its first test launch.
It is worth noting that today's U.S. military is quietly developing space fighters that may subvert the rules of war. Russian military-industrial giant "Antey-Diamond" said that back in 2010, the United States deployed the first X-37 space fighter. To date, six space fighters of two different sizes have been built in their entirety, with the first X-37 in space orbit for up to a year. The fourth and fifth have been held for two years.
Although the United States officially claims that the space fighter is used for scientific research and reconnaissance, it has a length of 89 meters, wingspan 45 meters, the maximum take-off weight reaches 5 tons, and it has the ability to carry ** equipment. Allegedly, even the smaller X-37 is capable of carrying three nuclear warheads, while the larger one is capable of carrying six. This fighter can fly in low earth orbit for up to 780 days and can fly at a maximum speed of 2820,000 kilometers, theoretically one and a half hours around the equator.
A total of eight space warplanes are expected to be put into service in the United States by 2025. If the United States uses it for military purposes, then it is likely to be used as a "space-based", that is, cruising in low-earth orbit and delivering a surprise vertical strike on the target. This disruptive ** equipment could have a significant impact on the rules of war. It is worth noting that the United States has been accusing Russia of trying to militarize space in recent years, when in fact it is the United States that is the primary factor in promoting the militarization of space.
The commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, Kornukov, even said that because of the X-37, Russia will most likely turn into a second Iraq or the former Yugoslavia. While this statement may be an exaggeration, for Russia, this threat is inevitable.
Conclusion: Against the background of economic sanctions, Russia began to massively develop hypersonic ** equipment for self-defense, demonstrating a huge military gap with the US military. At the same time, the U.S. military is quietly developing space fighters that can subvert the rules of war. The potential power of this space fighter could have a significant impact on the war situation. Against the backdrop of the militarization of space, Russia feels threatened, but it remains to be seen whether it will evolve into a situation in Iraq or the former Yugoslavia.