War. War never changes, but the weapons to wage
it with are constantly evolving- and they've never evolved faster than in modern times. Even as new technology has unlocked all manner
of improvements to our life, it's also created the most lethal military weapons ever invented. But which top the list of most lethal modern
military weapons? What weapon rules the modern battlefield? Let's find out. America’s F-22 Raptor
Pound for pound, the American F-22 Raptor is the undisputed ruler of the skies. While originally detracted for its inability
to dogfight, the fact is that the days of close-range dogfighting are well and truly
over. Modern anti-air weapon systems, long-range
acquisition and tracking, and the sheer speed of modern fighter jets make a traditional
dogfight a thing of fiction. That is why the US military went all-in on
optimizing the F-22 to be a stealthy long-range assassin. While its stealth characteristics vary- just
as with any stealth aircraft- on the angle the plane presents to incoming radar waves,
at its most optimal angles the F-22 gives off the same radar signature as that of a
flying marble. While no plane is truly invisible, the F-22
is the most survivable stealth fighter in the skies today. But stealthiness is only half of the equation,
because what makes the F-22 truly lethal is its incredible ability to detect targets at
extremely long range and network with other battlefield assets, including drones, airborne
radar, other planes, and even satellites. With such low observability and beyond visual
range engagement capabilities, the F-22 is a first-look, first-shoot aircraft, with missiles
incoming to enemy fighters before they've even detected the F-22. Unfortunately, the F-22 was only built in
small numbers, with the US Air Force operating 187 out of a planned fleet of hundreds. With the advent of the global war on terrorism,
funding priorities quickly shifted elsewhere, and the costly aircraft- coming in at $150
million a unit- was nixed to the current operational fleet. It was decided at the time that the F-22 was
simply so advanced that no other nation presented a realistic threat against it, and thus large
numbers of it were unnecessary. Even the Chinese Chengdu J-20 and the Russian
SU-57 were deemed to be both not threatening enough and not to be produced in large enough
numbers to pose a serious threat against American air forces. With China's growing ambitions in the South
China Sea and rapidly modernizing military though, the US Air Force has already begun
planning for a replacement to the F-22 and the F-35, through its Next Generation Air
Dominance program. Despite its low numbers, for now the F-22
though will remain the deadliest fighter above any battlefield it finds itself in. The F-22 may rule the skies, but our next
lethal modern weapon is the undisputed king of the underwater domain. American Seawolf-class Submarine Built at the end of the Cold War, the American
Seawolf class of submarines remains the most advanced submarines ever built, outclassing
even the modern US Virginia class submarines which are replacing America's Los Angeles
class. Originally developed to counter advanced Soviet
ballistic missile and attack submarines, the Seawolf was jam-packed with the most advanced
technology the US has ever fielded under the sea. Out of 29 originally planned to enter service,
only three were ever completed due to the end of the Cold War. Much like America's F-22 Raptor, the Seawolf
found itself a victim of having no realistic threat to go up against, and thus American
budget priorities were shifted elsewhere. At a cost of $5 billion per submarine, they
are a whopping 2 billion dollars more expensive than modern Virginia class submarines which
are soon to become the workhorse of the American attack sub fleet. All that money was well spent on creating
the stealthiest submarine to ever cruise the ocean, with an operational Seawolf described
as being quieter than a Los Angeles class submarine sitting idle at port. American sonar operators often joke that if
you want to track a Seawolf, follow the silent void cruising around the ocean. All three original Seawolfs remain in service
with the US Navy, and their stealth is so formidable that they have been modified to
allow for shallow water operations such as delivering Navy SEALs and other special forces
directly onto enemy beaches. Famously, a Seawolf was tasked with the nearly
impossible mission of tapping a Russian communications cable just offshore from a major Russian base,
and the tap remained undetected and active for years. American Seawolfs are rapidly approaching
thirty years in service, and yet there is no sign for their imminent retirement, another
clue as to just how deadly these extremely classified submarines really are. Recognizing the growing submarine threat posed
by Russia and China, the US Navy last year announced a plan to purchase a new generation
of “Seawolf-like” subs specialized in hunting and destroying enemy submarines. Despite only three of its kind in service,
the American Seawolf is the undisputed king of the underwater realm. The US may have the advantage in the air and
below the waves, but our next weapon threatens any American aircraft finding itself in the
wrong sky. Russia’s S-500 Air Defense System The United States has historically held the
advantage in combat aircraft, forcing Russia to invest heavily- much more so than NATO-
in air defense systems. This has given Russia an unrivaled expertise
in creating air defense weapons, and its newest surface-to-air/anti-ballistic missile system
puts the American equivalent, the Patriot missile battery, to shame. The S-500 was originally planned in the late
1960s, with a requirement to engage enemy aircraft up to 62 miles (100 km) away. The Soviet military however rejected the weapon,
requiring that a new air defense system be able to engage not just enemy aircraft, but
the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles. Thus the Soviets decided to invest in the
S-300 family of air defense systems instead, shelving the S-500 for a few decades. Today technology has caught up with Soviet
ambitions, delivering the most advanced air defense system in the world. Unlike many Russian military projects of late,
such as the SU-57, the S-500 seems to be more than just propaganda, and American intelligence
sources familiar with details of the system confirmed a successful intercept of an airborne
target at a range of nearly 300 miles (482 km). The S-500 is designed to be rapidly deployed,
with mobile radar and missile vehicles which can be set up in as little as thirty minutes
time, making them very hard to pinpoint and eliminate before becoming active. Realistic estimates are that the system can
track and engage up to ten targets at once, and can be used against intercontinental ballistic
missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles, aircraft, and even low earth orbit satellites. With an operational range of 370 miles (600
km), the S-500 can seriously threaten any enemy aircraft attempting to enter its domain,
and is without a doubt the most lethal air defense unit in the world. The American navy is the most powerful in
the world, but even it may not be able to defend itself from our next weapon. China's DF-26 Ballistic Missile China faces a serious problem in the Pacific-
the US Navy. Despite having a larger fleet, China's navy
remains technologically behind the US, and the nation is still incapable of carrying
out bluewater navy operations far from home. This is a serious problem for a nation that
gets more than sixty percent of its trade via the ocean, all coming through trade routes
it cannot hope to defend in the case of war against the US and its allies, or India. In response to the threat posed by the American
and Indian navies, China leaned heavily into the development and use of rocket forces,
creating the world's only missile service with the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force,
a military service focused exclusively on missile warfare. The latest addition to the Chinese rocket
forces, the DF-26, may just be the deadliest threat facing American and Indian ships in
the South Pacific. Designated the 'carrier killer', or the 'Guam
killer' because of its intended use against American aircraft carriers and its forces
on Guam, the DF-26 is a dual-use intermediate range ballistic missile capable of carrying
both a nuclear and conventional warhead. With the ability to carry a warhead weighing
up to 4,000 pounds (1800 kg), the DF-26 packs enough explosive wallop to devastate American
installations on Guam, and possibly even sink a US aircraft carrier with just one hit. With a range of up to 2,500 miles (4,000 km),
the DF-26 can not just threaten US forces in Guam, South Korea, and Japan, but it can
target American naval vessels far out at sea, keeping American naval air power out of the
fight altogether. Its ground-attack variants sport a circular
error of probability of between 150 to 450 meters, making it less than accurate. However as it's designed to be used in overwhelming
volleys meant to oversaturate enemy air defenses, the wide targeting margin of error is largely
meaningless. While it's unknown what the circular error
of probability is for its ship-attack variants, it is estimated that it must be no greater
than ten meters if it's to have any chance of threatening American or Indian ships. While formidable in theory, the DF-26 is not
believed to have been tested against naval targets yet, and requires a long kill chain
of assets that China has not proven it can master or defend in case of war. With American carriers presenting a moving
target hundreds or thousands of miles away, China's DF-26 would have to be very precise
indeed if it's to succeed at its primary mission of keeping American naval airpower away from
its shores. China’s missiles are indeed deadly, but
none can top the next weapon on our list of most lethal modern military weapons. Russia’s Hypersonic Missiles With the United States spending the majority
of the 21st century so far focused on terrorism, it has fallen far behind traditional rivals
in several key areas, such as anti-submarine warfare and the development of hypersonic
weapons. Of the two, none pose as great a threat to
American forces as Russia's next generation hypersonic missiles. Already deploying several variants, some of
which are nuclear-capable, the weapon that most worries US officials is the Zircon family
of hypersonic missiles. These weapons fly at six times the speed of
sound, giving air defense systems as little as a minute to respond to the incoming threat. If fired in large volleys at a target such
as a carrier strike group, the group's air defense cruisers would have only thirty seconds
or less to detect, track, and intercept before the missile's high speed brings it to its
target- a daunting feat for even America's AEGIS air defense system. With large enough numbers, an American carrier
strike group would simply be unable to respond in time to each incoming missile, ensuring
multiple hits on friendly ships. That's if these missiles can even be tracked
by radar in the first place, as the incredible high speeds cause the build up of a cloud
of plasma around the missile as it tears through the atmosphere, absorbing incoming radar waves. While it could still be detected by passive
systems such as infrared or those that pick up the missile's electronic emissions, these
are very short range in nature and typically don't provide a high enough fidelity to accurately
guide an interceptor missile to its target. While not impossible to defend against, hypersonic
missiles provide a significant challenge to American ships, prompting the US to invest
heavily into alternative interception weapons such as laser systems which operate at the
speed of light. However with their low flight profiles, stealth
features, and incredibly high speeds, detecting them in the first place remains a significant
challenge that right now, the United States simply has no answer for. With only an estimated six of these missiles
being required to sink a large US ship, the American navy finds itself under serious threat
for the first time since the Cold War. Despite the threat posed by hypersonic missiles
and new Chinese DF-26 ballistic missiles though, the US Navy currently remains confident that
it can operate in hostile waters. When pressed on the matter, Navy officials
have refused to comment on specific measures, citing highly classified defensive systems
in place or soon to be acquired to defend against these next generation weapons. Still, the threat posed by Russian hypersonic
missiles is seen by many as the death knell signaling the end of the aircraft carrier
as the preeminent weapon of naval warfare, the giant vessels simply being too large,
costly, and vulnerable to be worth the investment any longer. Ready for more military news? Check out our American vs Chinese Soldiers
comparison right now! Or click this other video instead!
