Hypersonic weapons will enter service with the US ground forces in 2023. This was stated by the head of the Pentagon Mark Esper at the annual meeting of the nongovernmental Association of the US Army on October 15.
“We will increase our investments in hypersonic technology over the next five years to scale up testing and develop these capabilities for fighters as quickly as possible,” Esper said.
The defense minister said that in March the army and navy tested a hypersonic gliding unit. The technology is going to be introduced into the troops in 2023.
“Today, new technologies are expanding the geometry of the battlefield and transforming the way we think about it,” he said.
The reason for this transformation, Esper said, is that US rivals China and Russia “seek to undermine” the United States’ military advantage through advanced military innovation.
Earlier, on October 15, the technical characteristics of the future American hypersonic missile AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon became known. So, the projectile will be able to develop a speed of 6.5-8 Mach and will be capable of 10-12 minutes. hit the target at a distance of 1.6 thousand km.
In February, the Pentagon announced the inability of the American missile defense system to intercept Russian hypersonic missiles.
In this regard, the United States has accelerated the program of hypersonic weapons, and American President Donald Trump announced the creation of “super-duper missiles”, which will be more terrible than the Russian ones.