Hypersonic Missile Tested by US

According to the US Military, it has recently tested a hypersonic missile successfully and it flew 17 times faster than the speed of sound. The test was carried out over the Pacific Ocean in March 2020. It has also been added that the US Military is in the process of testing a hypersonic cruise missile by the end of 2020. However, these missiles are not nuclear-capable.

The Department of Defense Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization has stated that the United States is looking forward to test flights of completed hypersonic prototypes by the year 2025 with deployable weapons by the second half of the next decade. It has also plans of carrying out around 40 test flights over the Pacific Ocean for the hypersonic missiles in the span of the next four years.

Hypersonic Missiles

These are missiles that travel at least five times the speed of sound, which amounts to more than 3800 miles per hour. These missiles are considered highly manoeuvrable and capable of operating at various altitudes without any problem. These missiles are so fast that it becomes very difficult to counter these missiles by the target enemies, using conventional missile defence systems. The issues lie in the speed of these missiles along with the flight trajectory of such missiles to deal with simultaneously by the defence systems. The US Missile is said to be around 17 times faster than the speed of sound.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020