Mike Dodd, Dioltas Advisory Board Chairman
The daily, horrific reports from Ukraine show just how far Russia is willing to go in what amounts to a senseless and unprovoked war. The tragic toll on human life is unfathomable. The situation reminds us of the importance of our strategic alliances with our European allies as Russia attempts to flex its military muscle.
One such attempt came several weeks ago when Russia claimed to use a hypersonic missile to destroy a weapons depot in western Ukraine. While U.S. sources question the claim, if true, it would be the first time such a weapon has been used in combat.
This is significant because hypersonic weapons are especially fast–traveling more than five times the speed of sound (that’s at least 3800 miles per hour)—and their trajectories are unpredictable making them potentially extremely lethal.