China surprised U.S. military leaders when, in 2021, it launched a hypersonic missile over the South China Sea that traveled at speeds of more than 15,000 mph.
Russia is using hypersonic missiles against Ukraine, including a new one Moscow says can travel eight times the speed of sound with a 660-pound warhead.
“America needs to regain its edge in terms of its ability to strike targets at range,” said Bryon Hargis, chief executive of Castelion, a startup in California developing a long-range hypersonic weapons system that will include explosives.
Hypersonic aircraft and weapons fly at five times the speed of sound or faster, which is at least 3,800 miles an hour. The aircraft must be able to withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees. The major powers of the world are in a race to develop the most sophisticated missiles that can be launched from long distances, evade air defenses, maneuver and strike targets quickly—before the enemy can make preparations or even know they are coming.
The U.S. military has little to show after spending billions of dollars over decades trying to develop the advanced systems. It has no offensive or defensive hypersonic systems in deployment. In 2021, the Defense Department outlined plans to field offensive hypersonic weapons in the early to mid-2020s.
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