Russia Deploys New Hypersonic Weapon
The Associated Press
We ran the numbers: There are 728 news articles covering this topic. 44% (323) are left leaning, 31% (227) center, 24% (178) right leaning.
On Friday, the Russian military said it deployed a new hypersonic weapon, known as the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle launched atop an intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile is reported to fly 27 times the speed of sound.
A left-leaning article by The New York Times reports that Moscow has been working on the technology for years, and its showcase could be as much about spurring a new round of diplomatic talks with president Trump as it is about reviving an arms race. The article reports that Russia began looking at ways to improve the capabilities of its strategic missile force after the United States withdrew from the antiballistic missile treaty in 2002 in order to expand its missile defenses.
A centrist article by AP News reports that Putin described the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 Soviet launch of the first satellite. The article reports that in December 2018, the Avangard was launched from the Dombarovskiy missile base in the southern Urals and successfully hit a practice target 6,000 kilometers away.
A right-leaning article by National Review highlights that U.S. Air Force General John E. Heyton, head of U.S. Strategic Command, told Congress that hypersonic weapons posed a challenge to American defenses and that the United States doesn’t “have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us.” The article also reports that China announced on Friday that it had successfully completed a launch of its Long March 5 rocket into space, which is designed to carry heavy payloads including satellites.
From the right
Russia Claims to Be the First Nation with Operational Hypersonic Missiles
National Review