“Hypersonic weapons, or vehicles and missiles that travel faster than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, aren’t new; the US has been developing and testing these weapons since the 1950s. But there’s been relatively little USinvestment in these systems in recent decades, while China and Russia have developed their hypersonics programs. Russia even used six of its hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine earlier this month, the largest number the country has deployed in one strike during the war. Other countries including Australia, Iran, both North and South Korea, Brazil, Germany, Israel, India, and Japan are developing hypersonic programs. However, the increase in funding and tempo of the US program comes as relations between the US and China are the worst they’ve been in decades.
The Department of Defense’s proposed budget for Army and Air Force hypersonics development and requisition for the years 2023 through 2027 sits at $15 billion, according to a January report from the Congressional Budget Office. That figure doesn’t include the Navy’s hypersonics development program, which in February announced a $1.1 billion contract with the defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin to add a hypersonic system to Zumwalt-class destroyers.
Defense officials have argued for years that the US is “behind” China in its hypersonic weapons development, and that may be true. China fielded a test in 2021 of a hypersonic, nuclear-capable weapon which at the time took many in the defense community by surprise and showed astounding development in China’s hypersonics capabilities.
“Once, American technological predominance was regarded as all but unassailable, and China tended to be dismissed as a copycat that was unlikely to close the gap,” Elsa Kania, an adjunct senior fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, told Vox in an email. “Today, recognition of China’s potential to lead in new frontiers and strategic technologies is heightening the urgency behind US efforts and programs on several fronts.””
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“Where hypersonic weapons really differ from ballistic weapons isn’t necessarily their speed, but their maneuverability in flight and their ability to evade missile detection and defense systems like the Patriot. One of the US’ most advanced missile defense systems, the Patriot is also used in 17 other countries. They evade detection during parts of their journey by exiting or nearly exiting the earth’s atmosphere and by shifting their course during flight.
“In the near term, hypersonic weapons systems are expected to have the potential to overcome even the most sophisticated air and missile defense systems,” Kania told Vox.”