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Old 01-11-2008, 13:11 PM   #13 (permalink)
HistoricalDavid
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yusuf View Post
Supersonic cruise missiles are a reality now after the Indo-Russian Brahmos. There is talk of Hypersonic cruise missile
How about supersonic stealthy cruise missiles?

Regardless, cruise missiles cannot ever match the speed of ballistics. Compare Mach 3ish sea skimmers with the Mach 20ish re-entry speed of ICBMs.

PS the Soviets operationally deployed plenty of supersonic cruise missiles since about the '60s, specifically AShMs. However, the problem with supersonics and especially hypersonics is the huge IR signature, which on a supersonic AShM can reportedly be seen over the horizon.
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