The U.S. Navy is transforming a costly flub into a potent weapon with the first shipborne hypersonic weapon, which is being retrofitted aboard the first of its three stealthy destroyers. The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship. “It was a costly blunder. But the Navy could take victory from the jaws of defeat here, and get some utility out of them by making them into a hypersonic platform,” said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute. The U.S. has had several types of hypersonic weapons in development for the past two decades, but recent tests by both Russia and China have added pressure to the U.S. military to hasten their production. Hypersonic weapons travel beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, with added maneuverability making them harder to shoot down. Last year, The Washington Post reported that among the documents leaked by former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was a defense department briefing that confirmed China had recently tested an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon called the DF-27. While the Pentagon had previously acknowledged the weapon's development, it had not recognized its testing. One of the U.S. programs in development and planned for the Zumwalt is the “Conventional Prompt Strike." It would launch like a ballistic missile and then release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would travel at speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target. The weapon system is being developed jointly by the Navy and Army. Each of the Zumwalt-class destroyers would be equipped with four missile tubes, each with three of the missiles for a total of 12 hypersonic weapons per ship. In choosing the Zumwalt, the Navy is attempting to add to the usefulness of a $7.5 billion warship that is considered by critics to be an expensive mistake despite serving as a test platform for multiple innovations. The Zumwalt was envisioned as providing land-attack capability with an Advanced Gun System with rocket-assisted projectiles to open the way for Marines to charge ashore. But the system featuring 155 mm guns hidden in stealthy turrets was canceled because each of the rocket-assisted projectiles cost between $800,000 and $1 million. Despite the stain on its reputation, the three Zumwalt-class destroyers remain the Navy’s most advanced surface warship in terms of new technologies. Those innovations include electric propulsion, an angular shape to minimize radar signature, an unconventional wave-piercing hull, automated fire and damage control and a composite deckhouse that hides radar and other sensors. The Zumwalt arrived at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in August 2023 and was removed from the water for the complex work of integrating the new weapon system. It is due to be undocked this week in preparation for the next round of tests and its return to the fleet, shipyard spokeswoman Kimberly Aguillard said. A U.S. hypersonic weapon was successfully tested over the summer and development of the missiles is continuing. The Navy wants to begin testing the system aboard the Zumwalt in 2027 or 2028, according to the Navy. The U.S. weapon system will come at a steep price. It would cost nearly $18 billion to buy 300 of the weapons and maintain them over 20 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Critics say there is too little bang for the buck. “This particular missile costs more than a dozen tanks. All it gets you is a precise non-nuclear explosion, some place far far away. Is it really worth the money? The answer is most of the time the missile costs much more than any target you can destroy with it,” said Loren Thompson, a longtime military analyst in Washington, D.C. But they provide the capability for Navy vessels to strike an enemy from a distance of thousands of kilometers — outside the range of most enemy weapons — and there is no effective defense against them, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Ray Spicer, CEO of the U.S. Naval Institute, an independent forum focusing on national security issues, and former commander of an aircraft carrier strike force. Conventional missiles that cost less aren’t much of a bargain if they are unable to reach their targets, Spicer said, adding the U.S. military really has no choice but to pursue them. “The adversary has them. We never want to be outdone,” he said. The U.S. is accelerating development because hypersonics have been identified as vital to U.S. national security with “survivable and lethal capabilities,” said James Weber, principal director for hypersonics in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies. “Fielding new capabilities that are based on hypersonic technologies is a priority for the defense department to sustain and strengthen our integrated deterrence, and to build enduring advantages,” he said.
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Reform UK has said it could help Labour's candidate for First Minister of Scotland - as 'anything is preferable to the SNP '. Nigel Farage 's party hopes to become kingmakers in the Scottish Parliament's 2026 election, where it expected to gain around 14 seats. The party is expected to become the fourth biggest in the Holyrood election, the Scottish Daily Express reports , behind Labour, the SNP and the Tories , although Reform even hopes to knock the Conservatives into fourth. The position of First Minister is set to be taken by either Labour or the SNP - with Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice indicating the party would help to put Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in power in Edinburgh. Speaking to the Telegraph , he claimed Scotland had suffered under an SNP government and that it was 'time for a change'. He added: "Our ambition is we see it being quite possible that we end up being the kingmakers in the next Holyrood government. "And from a standing start, give or take at the beginning of this year in Scottish terms, that is a pretty significant and quite achievable observation. "It's quite possible that we poll as the third largest party in terms of the number of votes and seats." The Reform MP for Boston and Skegness added that he felt the party would perform particularly well in North East Scotland in 2026. However he also believes the party could 'surprise' people in Glasgow after Reform came third in a recent by-election in the city's North East ward. Mr Tice added: "If you look at where we're polling and I think for most people that's unexpected rapid growth. "And polling is being at least matched by by-election results - so it's for real. It's not just keyboard warriors."
NO. 20 TEXAS A&M 81, RUTGERS 77Chandigarh: The Haryana Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, on Saturday approved the use of Aadhaar authentication services for candidates appearing in examinations for Group A and B posts conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC). The authentication will be mandatory during the registration process for these posts on the HPSC portal, an official statement said. The introduction of Aadhaar authentication aims to streamline the application procedure, eliminate fraudulent candidates, and ensure the accuracy of candidate data through de-duplication. This move will enhance the credibility and reliability of the recruitment process, maintaining public confidence in the competitive exams, said the government. The Cabinet decided to increase the maximum limit on the death-cum-retirement gratuity for government employees by 25 per cent, raising it from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. This enhancement will take effect from January 1, 2024. Similarly, the Cabinet approved a 25 per cent increase in the maximum limit of death-cum-retirement gratuity for judicial officers, raising it from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. This enhancement will also be effective from January 1, 2024. These decisions are aimed at providing enhanced financial security to government employees and their families as well as judicial officers. It also approved the standing operating procedure (SOP) for the implementation of Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana (MMPSY) for 2024-25. As per the SOP, instead of reimbursing the premium to the beneficiaries of PMJJBY, PMSBY, PMKMY, PMSYMY and PMLVMY under Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana, Rs 1,000 per eligible family per year will be transferred to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Parivar Suraksha Yojana (DAYALU) for payment of compensation under DAYALU having family income from all sources less than or equal to Rs 1.80 lakh per annum, and having a Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP). The Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana was notified on February 6, 2020, with an aim of providing financial assistance and social security, including life and accident insurance and pension benefits to eligible families belonging to economically weaker sections. The Cabinet approved the revision of the ex-gratia to the families of battle casualties of Central armed forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel. The revised ex-gratia has been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. –