Hypersonic may sound like a term invented for a kid’s TV show about superheroes, but it relates specifically to platforms capable of traveling at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or around 3,838 miles per hour. At such high speeds, even the most modern air defense systems in the world pose little threat to these weapons as they close with their targets.
Hypersonic flight is not a new thing, despite its recent launch into the limelight. Even the Nazi V-2 rocket could break the Mach 5 barrier, and the U.S. even had a hypersonic bomber program in the works before the Soviets launched Sputnik. What has changed, however, is the ability to control flight at this rate of speed to a high degree of accuracy through onboard hardware and advanced software.
Modern hypersonic weapons come in two forms: scramjet-powered cruise missiles and hypersonic boost-glide vehicles, also known as Hypersonic Glide Vehicles, or HGVs.
Related: Is America really losing the hypersonic arms race?
Hypersonic Boost Glide Vehicles are warheads that glide toward their targets at speeds as high as Mach 20 or more
Hypersonic Boost Glide Vehicles (HGVs) aren’t all that different than the warheads on traditional long-range ballistic missiles, at least in the early stages of their flight path. They are carried into the upper atmosphere via high-velocity boosters just like traditional ICBMs, but they’re often released at lower altitudes.
Once released, these hypersonic boost glide vehicles rely on momentum and either control surfaces or chemical thrusters to maneuver during their high-speed descent. Despite popular misconceptions, these weapons won’t necessarily reach their targets faster than traditional ballistic missiles, which follow more arcing (and predictable) ballistic flight paths. Because hypersonic boost glide vehicles fly along a flatter trajectory and maneuver along the way, they can actually take longer to reach their target in some circumstances than a more straightforward ballistic missile warhead.
But it’s that ability to change course, rather than overall speed, that makes these weapons so difficult to defend against. Modern air defense systems rely on complex mathematical equations to predict where a missile will be so it can launch a kinetic interceptor (usually another missile) that will catch the inbound weapon at some point along its flight path. Because hypersonic boost glide vehicles adjust course along the way, air defenses can’t reliably predict where to send an interceptor to stop them.
Related: Here are the hypersonic weapons Russia and China have in service
China and Russia have hypersonic boost glide weapons in service, while the US continues development
Currently, only two nations possess operational hypersonic weapons, China and Russia—and both are hypersonic boost glide vehicles. Russia’s Avangard weapon is said to have a 2 megaton nuclear payload and is expected to be deployed from the nation’s forthcoming ICBM, the RS-28 Sarmat. China’s DZ-ZF hypersonic boost glide vehicle is an anti-ship weapon carried aboard the nation’s DF-17 ballistic missiles. You can learn more about the hypersonic weapons China and Russia have in service in our full coverage of the topic here.
It is important to remember, however, that “operational” is a subjective term. Russia, perhaps more so than any other nation, has a long history of claiming military capability they’ve yet to truly master. Likewise, many experts remain skeptical about the targeting capabilities of China’s hypersonic anti-ship weapons, even if the missiles themselves are indeed capable of flying at sustained hypersonic speeds.
In other words, operational doesn’t necessarily mean effective, but to be clear, fielding these advanced weapons remains a significant source of international prestige and diplomatic leverage. On the world’s stage, most nations are left having to assume these systems can perform as advertised, in order to plan accordingly in the event that they do.
Related: The groundbreaking hypersonic missiles America has in the works
America has a number of hypersonic boost glide weapons in development, including the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) and its Army sibling, the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), as well as the Air Force’s AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW pronounced “arrow”). You can learn more about all the hypersonic weapons America has in development in our full coverage of the topic here.
While China and Russia’s hypersonic boost glide weapons are considered nuclear-capable, America has committed to only developing conventional hypersonic weapons.
You can learn more about the race to field the most advanced and capable hypersonic weapons in our full coverage of the subject here.
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