WASHINGTON - Defense officials have revealed to CNN details about the hypersonic missile President Donald Trump has long touted as a "super duper" new military weapon -- part of a major effort to catch up to Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons programs, report Ryan Browne and Barbara Starr for CNN. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
July 20, 2020-CNN's story on the development of America's hypersonic weapon that President Trump has touted as a "super duper" weapon cites a senior defense offical in its reporting explaining the missile. The president has stated that the missile is "17 times faster" than anything in teh American arsenal.
"What he was referring to, really, was the recent flight test that we've performed in March where we flew 17 times the speed of sound," the senior defense official said.
The official noted the development of hypersonic weapons by China and Russia has spurred the development of the American answer.
"What helped us make the decision is that, you know, hey, the adversaries have made that decision to develop their hypersonic systems, and that really creates a potential asymmetry in war-fighting capability that we just can't allow to stand if we want to make sure we maintain our military dominance," the official said.
Related: How the U.S. military plans to destroy hypersonic missiles in a war
Related: The age of hypersonic weapons has begun
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
