Counter-hypersonics: Pentagon invests in sensors, but interceptors are years away

摘要

Countering any missile threat presents a significant operational and technical challenge, and the speed and manoeuvrability of 'hypersonic' weapons can markedly increase those challenges. Weapons that can manoeuvre and travel at hypersonic speeds of above Mach 5 - referred to by the Pentagon as hypersonics - may present a new threat to US targets as they marry the manoeuvrability of cruise missiles with the speed of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Developing defences against hypersonics was allocated as a US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) mission and detecting and tracking the launch is critical to intercepting it. To that end, the MDA is developing new hypersonic tracking technologies, as well as retrofitting legacy missile warning systems with hypersonic detection and tracking capabilities.