(AP/Washington Times) Russia successfully tested a space vehicle that could lead to weapons capable of penetrating missile defenses, Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, said Thursday. He said it was a hypersonic vehicle - one that moves at more than five times the speed of sound - that could maneuver in orbit to dodge missile defense systems. The Russian news website www.gazeta.ru said the vehicle was a warhead with engines that would direct it as it approached a target, rather than going into free fall. "We have proven that it's possible to develop weapons that would make any missile defense useless," Baluyevsky said. "We have demonstrated our capability, but we have no intention to build this craft tomorrow."
2004-02-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive