US falls behind in hypersonic race as China, Russia gain edge
The U.S. has spent years racing to develop hypersonic weapons to compete with China and Russia, but delays, shifting programs and limited testing capacity constraints are raising concerns that Washington...
By Fox News · Fox News
The U.S. has spent years racing to develop hypersonic weapons to compete with China and Russia, but delays, shifting programs and limited testing capacity constraints are raising concerns that Washington remains in a catch-up phase in a technology that could reshape modern warfare. Key programs have faced repeated delays, including setbacks in testing and development timelines, while others have been canceled and later revived as the Pentagon reassesses its approach. At the same time, limited testing infrastructure has constrained how quickly new systems can be evaluated and refined, slowing the pace of development across multiple efforts. That combination has heightened concern inside the Pentagon , particularly as China and Russia already have fielded hypersonic systems, potentially giving them an edge in a class of weapons that could compress decision-making timelines in a crisis and challenge U.S. defenses. WORLD ENTERS UNCHARTED ERA AS US-RUSSIA NUCLEAR TREATY EXPIRES, OPENING DOOR TO FASTEST ARMS RACE IN DECADES Hypersonic weapons are designed to travel at extremely high speeds while maneuvering in flight, making them far harder to detect and intercept than traditional missiles. Unlike ballistic missiles, which follow a predictable path, hypersonic weapons can change direction mid-flight and fly at lower altitudes, reducing warning time and making them more difficult for existing missile defenses to track. Russia already has used hypersonic-type weapons in its war against Ukraine, in some cases as a signal to Kyiv and its Western allies, underscoring how the technology is beginning to shape real-world conflict. Inside the U.S. portfolio, however, progress has been uneven. Some programs are advancing toward deployment, others have been canceled and revived, and officials are increasingly balancing investments between building hypersonic weapons and defending against them. Part of the challenge is technical. Hypersonic systems must survive extreme heat and pres…