DoD Presses The Accelerator On Hypersonic Weapons (From RealClearDefense)

A new technological competition has begun, one in which America’s rivals, particularly Russia and China, may be ahead. This is the race to build and put in the field super-fast or hypersonic weapons and vehicles. Senior U.S. defense officials have publicly stated that Russia and China are ahead of us in this new arms race. In response to this threat, the Department of Defense (DoD), which has yet to deploy a single hypersonic weapon, has pushed the research and development accelerator to the floor. Under Secretary Griffin has made hypersonics his number one priority. DoD has harnessed the energy and talent of the aerospace and defense industry to meet this challenge. A leader in this area is Lockheed Martin. Other players include Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada and Aerojet Rocketdyne. DoD hopes to have its first hypersonic weapons deployed by the mid-202s. I have written more about this here.