China Revives Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, Evading US Missile Defenses
The article reports on the US Senate's confirmation of Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to lead the Golden Dome missile shield program, a layered homeland defense system with cost estimates exceeding $175 billion. The analysis focuses on the fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS), a Cold War-era weapon that the Soviet Union fielded in 1969 and later abandoned under the SALT II treaty. China resurrected FOBS in July 2021 with two secret tests, notably pairing the partial-orbit delivery with a hypersonic glide vehicle—a maneuverable payload the Soviets never demonstrated. FOBS can approach the US from the South Pole, bypassing Arctic-oriented early-warning radars, and does not follow a predictable ballistic trajectory until its deorbit burn, making it a destabilizing first-strike weapon. The article highlights that no treaty currently bans FOBS, unlike during the Cold War.
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