U.S. Military’s Project Pluto
Supersonic Cruise Missile
Similar to Hypersonic Missiles
As the 21st century’s prominent asymmetrical power, the news that China and Russia have surpassed the U.S. in hypersonic missile technology was enough to send shockwaves worldwide. However, the U.S. has been devising various strategies for asymmetrical power in the past. For instance, the U.S. has conceived ideas such as nuclear weapons in multiple platforms and forms, notably nuclear cannons and recoilless nuclear guns.
This article will introduce a weapon that also comes from the U.S.’s unique thinking. It is the supersonic cruise missile Pluto, which can fly indefinitely with a nuclear reactor onboard, delivering nuclear strikes to the enemy. Let’s take a brief look at this weapon today.
Nuclear Power Launches Nuclear Weapons
16 One-Megaton Warheads Onboard
The Project Pluto is a weapon symbolizing nuclear omnipotence that emerged shortly after World War II. Using atomic energy as propulsion to fly indefinitely toward a target at hypersonic speeds at low altitudes sounds idealistic.
The most powerful feature of this weapon is its booster rocket, which carries 16 one-megaton warheads. In other words, it’s not just a missile targeting a single point but a weapon engineered to obliterate the enemy’s territory by sequentially dropping nuclear warheads as it flies toward its target.
Hypersonic Missiles: Top Asymmetric Power
Test Impossible, Project Canceled
The concept of Pluto, which flies at hypersonic speeds at low altitudes where the enemy can’t intercept, appears similar to the modern asymmetric power of hypersonic missiles. However, unlike hypersonic missiles that change their trajectory erratically from high altitudes, Pluto was designed to fly to a single target and devastate the surrounding area with nuclear weapons.
However, developers could not test this weapon because its design, unlike traditional nuclear weapons, involved dropping nuclear warheads while in flight to destroy enemy territory. Furthermore, the development of more efficient and powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) led to the whitewashing of this project after seven years.
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