US rushes to develop hypersonic weapons to counter Russia-China

"I am confident that we can significantly accelerate the pace of research into hypersonic weapons,"Sputnikquote himWill Roper, assistant secretary of the US Air Force, announced on May 8.

The US Air Force is implementing an ambitious hypersonic weapons development project as Russia and China have made remarkable progress in this field.

Mr. Roper affirmed that the US Air Force accepts weapons that are 90% complete, instead of having to wait many more years for the equipment to be fully developed and evaluated.

The Pentagon is developing a prototype hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) that would be launched from an aircraft into space and then use gravity to descend to its target at high speed. Washington is also studying a "conventional hypersonic weapon" project based on more advanced technologies in the future.

Both weapons are part of a joint project between the US Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense. "The two systems have different flight paths and warheads, giving the US Air Force more options when attacking targets," Mr. Roper affirmed.

The race to develop hypersonic weapons was mentioned by General John Hyten, commander of the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), earlier this year. "We have no defense against these weapons," Hyten stated during a US congressional hearing on Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons technology.

Hypersonic weapons typically travel at speeds of around 6,175-12,000 km/h. In terms of operating principles, hypersonic weapons trade off the extremely high reentry speed of intercontinental ballistic missile warheads for increased range and the ability to evade enemy air defenses. In addition, these weapons also have complex maneuverability while in flight, making it impossible for missile defense systems to accurately determine their trajectory for interception.

China is believed to be leading the world in hypersonic weapons technology, at least in terms of actual battlefield applications. The DF-17 is the world's first missile system to use a hypersonic warhead, and is expected to be deployed by Beijing in 2020.

In his state-of-the-nation address on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin also introduced two hypersonic weapons, including the Kinzhal anti-ship missile complex capable of sinking warships from a distance of 2,000 km, and the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle with a speed of up to 25,000 km/h and a range of 10,000 km.