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A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System with a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle??

A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System with a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle??

Arms Control Wonk · Jeffrey Lewis

October 19, 202149m 28s

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Show Notes

This is a complicated one. According to Demetri Sevastopulo at the Financial Times, China tested something that sounds a whole lot like FOBS with an HGV. Something that orbited the globe and dropped a hypersonic glide vehicle against a target.

Jeffrey, Aaron, and Scott try to figure out what actually was tested (HGV-FOBS? An intercontinental glider? A super-lofted ballistic missile??), talk about what it means to be a "fractional orbital bombardment system" versus a regular ballistic missile, and why the pursuit of perfect missile defenses may make us all less secure.

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