Hypersonics is a category of weapons that can travel within the upper atmosphere for sustained periods of time, at velocities greater than about five times the speed of sound.

Mike White, Principal Director for Hypersonics, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, spoke during Engineers Week.

“Historically, the United States has been a world leader in hypersonics research and development but we have consistently made the decision not to transition to warfighting capability and warfighting systems in hypersonics,” White said.

However, “great power” competitors, Russia and China, in particular, have aggressively pursued hypersonic technologies and capabilities, and they’re aggressively developing hypersonic systems and in fact-fielding weapon systems based on hypersonic capabilities, he noted.  These systems will compound the challenge created by other high-end systems they are fielding to hold our forces at risk in the air, on land, at sea and in space.

Continue reading at:  U.S. Department of Defense News