> And even if we could detect a missile flying at low altitudes at 20 times the speed of sound, we have no way of stopping it.
Looks like author doesn't know what he's talking about here?
Looks like author doesn't know what he's talking about here?
Granted we are not at mach 20 missiles or even mach 5 missiles yet, but this is an article about the future, after all.
Mainly for exactly the reason of making the missile too difficult to detect until it's far too late to do anything about it.
IIRC there's also two additional reasons: striking from a low angle means a better chance of damaging the ship at or below the waterline in order to sink it, and because sea-skimming means the sensors have a much easier time picking out the ship from the sea.