US Air Force test to launch ultra-fast hypersonic missile fails

[TomWilm]

5. Hypersonic Missiles More Easily Detected Than Current Weapons Systems

U.S. Won’t Get Return on Multi-Billion Dollar Investment in Hypersonics and May End Up Less Secure. A scientific study finds that hypersonic missiles will not offer the United States significant new military capabilities because they are slower and more susceptible to detection than the country’s existing ballistic missile systems.

The study refutes widespread claims about the speed and detectability of hypersonic missiles. Using computational modeling, the study finds that hypersonic gliders deliver weapons more slowly than ballistic missiles during intercontinental flights due to drag effects and can be detected by space-based infrared sensors because they remain hot throughout the duration of their atmospheric flight. In addition, their ability to maneuver is more limited than typically claimed.

“Hypersonic missiles are not the revolutionary technology they’re claimed to be,” said Dr. Cameron Tracy, co-author of the research study and Kendall Fellow for the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “The United States is spending vast sums of money on these new weapons that will perform worse, in many ways, than the ballistic missiles we already have.”

https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/study-says-hypersonic-missiles-slower-and-more-easily-detected-current-weapons-systems