thumb|400px|Fractional Orbital Bombardment System compared to a traditional [[ICBM]]
A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) is a warhead delivery system that uses a low Earth orbit towards its target destination. Just before reaching the target, it deorbits through a retrograde engine burn.
The Soviet Union first developed FOBS as a nuclear-weapons delivery system in the 1960s. It was one of the first Soviet efforts to use space to deliver nuclear weapons. In August 2021, the People's Republic of China tested a weapon that combined a FOBS with a hypersonic glide vehicle.
China reportedly tested a FOBS missile system in July and August 2021. A rocket was launched into orbital flight and re-entered the atmosphere deploying a glide vehicle that traveled at hypersonic speeds.
On October 10th, 2021, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian claimed that the test launch was not a missile test, and instead was the test of a reusable spaceplane. In November 2022, The United States Department of Defense refuted the previous claims from China's foreign Ministry, and stated that the vehicle had travelled approximately 40,000 km during the test flight with a total flight time of over 100 minutes. The report additionally claimed that the vehicle had completed a revolution around the entire world and had impacted a site inside of China.
Russia
In 2021, Russia entered into service a new ICBM that could arguably fit the criteria to be considered a FOBS. The RS-28 Sarmat or SS-X-30 Satan II is a liquid-fueled missile with a range of 10,000-18,000 km and a payload capacity of 10,000 kg which can be various types of warheads and weapons. The United States Pentagon claims that the RS-28 ICBM can be deployed as a FOBS and could potentially increase the range up to 38,000 km. Following Russia's new highly advanced missile, the United States is leaning towards the development of a new missile to replace the outperformed Minuteman III missile. The United States response program would cost ~$85 billion according to the Pentagon.
The results of these missile developments, particularly the RS-28 Sarmat which is capable of FOBS implementation could be a new form of an arms race setting back both countries in the progress made following the Cold War. The Cold War brought many times of uncertainty surrounding nuclear arms which presented many agreements between the two powers. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) are the primary weapon of nuclear capability today. The development of the RS-28 Sarmat classified as an ICBM, but possessing the ability to function as an FOBS is concerning to many world leaders. The specifications that present the primary concern is the extreme range with low trajectory flight to prevent detection from the NORAD system in Alaska, US. The undetected missile could release at-least 10 multiple targeted re-entry vehicles.
See also
- China and weapons of mass destruction
- Timeline of Russian innovation