The US hypersonic weapons development program faced a major setback after failed missile launching attempt
The Pentagon’s programs to develop hypersonic weapons suffered a setback on Thursday after one of the propellant missiles carrying a hypersonic weapon failed to launch, sources said.
Two people familiar with the test result said the test was aimed at checking the integrity of the sides of a hypersonic glide vehicle under development.
Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched from a missile that makes its way into the upper layers of the atmosphere before gliding onto a target at speeds over five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200 kilometers per hour.
In a separate series of tests on Wednesday, the US Navy and Army tested prototypes of hypersonic weapons components.
The Pentagon said in a statement that these tests “successfully demonstrated advanced hypersonic weapons technologies, capabilities, and primary systems in a realistic working environment”.
The United States and its adversaries around the world are accelerating the pace of producing hypersonic weapons, the next generation of weapons designed to deprive adversaries of response time and conventional warfare mechanisms.
US President Joe Biden expressed concern on Wednesday about China’s possession of hypersonic missiles, days after a news report was published that Beijing had tested a hypersonic glide weapon capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.
Companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies are working to develop hypersonic weapons capability for the United States.
