The US military successfully tested a hypersonic cruise missile on Friday. Launched from a B52 strategic bomber off the coast of California, this AGM-183A ARRW reached “five times the speed of sound, followed its trajectory and exploded” in the intended area, the Air Force said.
“Supersonic weapons designed to evade US sensors and defense systems pose an increasingly complex threat due to their dual capability (nuclear and conventional), challenging trajectory and maneuverability,” the United States warned in a recent report. The fact remains that the United States is developing several hypersonic weapons programs of its own, and Darpa, the US Army’s scientific arm, tested another type of hypersonic missile earlier this year.
Deliver a nuclear weapon to a specific target
Hypersonic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to a precise target are designed to fly at high speed, low altitude and change direction of flight, and do not follow a linear and predictable trajectory, making their interception difficult.
China tested a hypersonic missile in 2021 that circled the Earth in orbit before descending to its target, missing by just a few kilometers. For its part, Russia claimed to have twice used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, and North Korea also claims to have conducted flight tests.