Originally Posted by
A_Van
This is not a surprise for those concerned with the matter, or at least following the media. After the US withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2001 (probably hoping that toys like SM-3, GBI and THAAD would provide the defense), it was said many times (in public) in Russia that maneuvering warhead blocks would leave no chance for current (and near future) interceptors.
The design itself is not new, but is dated back to mid 80's when Reagan was keen on his SDI. Then in early 90's the programme was discontinued, but revived in mid 2000's after Bush Jr buried the ABMT. Nothing breakthrough technologically, also no big costs (the launcher itself if pretty old).
For those interested and ready to spend some time in online translation, here is the URL in Russian:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90...5%D0%BA%D1%81)
P.S. To Herod
Mach 1 at the sea level is about 340 m/s, while at the altitude of 80 km it is only around 280+ m/s. I agree that M=27 is likely a journos' or politicians' error, but 25+ sounds more real (see e.g. the Shuttle re-entry profile).
Cue sprint Mk2 [that's Mk2 not Mach2]