> One of the authors is a former US Air Force colonel. I was curious, so I looked it up. There are about 3,300 colonels in the US Air Force: https://www.stati

> One of the authors is a former US Air Force colonel. I was curious, so I looked it up. There are about 3,300 colonels in the US Air Force: https://www.statista.com/statistics/239365/total-military-personnel-of-the-us-air-force-by-grade/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/239365/total-military-pe... > Lest it be any confusion, scramjets are fast, but are nowhere as fast as ICBM's I agree that's weird phrasing and incorrect on its face. That said - as I understand it, cruise missiles don't have the launch signature ICBMs have. While it would take longer for a cruise missile to travel the same distance as an ICBM, it might in fact give the target country less time to react if they aren't detected until they are well on their way.