Reentry vehicle (RV) after an 8,000-kilometre (5,000 mi) flight, 1959. Note the blackened tip of the RV due toaerodynamic heating. Compare to the aerodynamic heating effect on theiron meteorite on the right.
The first manufactured object to achieve hypersonic flight was the two-stageBumper rocket, consisting of aWAC Corporal second stage set on top of aV-2 first stage. In February 1949, atWhite Sands, the rocket reached a speed of 8,290 km/h (5,150 mph), or about Mach 6.7.[2] The vehicle burned up onre-entry, and only charred remnants survived.
In April 1961, RussianYuri Gagarin became the first human to travel at hypersonic speed, during the world's first pilotedorbital flight. Soon after, in May 1961, AmericanAlan Shepard became the first American and second human to fly hypersonic when his capsule reentered the atmosphere at a speed above Mach 5 at the end of hissuborbital flight over the Atlantic Ocean.[3]
In November 1961, AmericanRobert White flew theX-15 research aircraft at speeds over Mach 6.[4][5] On 3 October 1967, in California, an X-15 reached Mach 6.7.[6]
A key technology for hypersonic flight is theScramjet. TheNASA X-43A flew on scramjet for 10 seconds, and then glided for 10 minutes on its last flight in 2004. TheBoeing X-51 Waverider flew on scramjet for 210 seconds in 2013, reaching Mach 5.1 on its fourth flight test.
Space vehiclereentry was extensively studied.[7] The hypersonic regime is the subject of development during the 21st century, amidstrategic competition between the United States, India, Russia, and China.[8]
Thestagnation point of air flowing around a body is a point where its local velocity is zero. At this spot, moving air flows around this location. Ashock wave forms, which deflects the air from the stagnation point and insulates the flight body from the atmosphere.[7] This can affect the lifting ability of a flight surface, needed to counteract its drag and subsequentfree fall.[9][a]
In order to maneuver in the atmosphere at beyond supersonic speeds, propulsion can still use airbreathing systems, but aramjet is not sufficient to attain Mach 5, as a ramjet slows the airflow to subsonic speed.[11] Systems such aswaveriders use a (first stage) rocket to boost a body into the hypersonic regime.Boost-glide vehicles use scramjets after their initial boost, in which the speed of the air passing through the scramjet remains supersonic.Munitions typically use a cannon for their initial boost.[12]
Hypersonic flow is a high energy flow.[13] The ratio of kinetic energy to the internal energy of the gas increases as the square of the Mach number. When this flow enters a boundary layer, high viscous effects appear due to the friction between air and the speeding object. In this case, the kinetic energy is converted in part to internal energy and gas energy is proportional to the internal energy. Therefore, hypersonic boundary layers are high temperature regions due to the viscous dissipation of the flow's kinetic energy. Another region of high temperature flow is the shock layer behind the strong bow shock wave. In the case of the shock layer, the flow's velocity decreases discontinuously as it passes through the shock wave. This results in a loss of kinetic energy and a gain of internal energy behind the shock wave. Due to high temperatures behind the shock wave, dissociation of molecules in the air becomes significant. For example, for air at T > 2,000 K (1,730 °C; 3,140 °F), dissociation of diatomic oxygen into oxygen radicals is active: O2 → 2O[14]: 41 [15]) For T > 4,000 K (3,730 °C; 6,740 °F), dissociation of diatomic nitrogen into N radicals is active: N2 → 2N[14]: 39 Consequently, in this temperature range, aplasma forms:[16] —molecular dissociation followed by recombination of oxygen and nitrogenradicals produces nitric oxide: N2 + O2 → 2NO, which then dissociates and recombines to formions: N + O → NO+ + e−[14]: 39 [17]
At standard sea-level condition for air, themean free path of air molecules is about. At an altitude of 104 km (65 mi), where the air is thinner, the mean free path is. Because of this, large free mean path aerodynamic concepts, equations, and results based on the assumption of a continuum, begin to break down, forcing consideration of aerodynamics fromkinetic theory. This regime of aerodynamics is called low-density flow. For a given aerodynamic condition low-density effects depend on the value of a nondimensional parameter called theKnudsen number, defined as where is the typical length scale of the object considered. The value of the Knudsen number based on nose radius,, can be near one.
Hypersonic vehicles frequently fly at high altitudes and therefore encounter low-density conditions. Hence, the design and analysis of hypersonic vehicles sometimes require consideration of low-density flow. New generations of hypersonic airplanes may spend a considerable portion of their mission at high altitudes, and for these vehicles, low-density effects will become more significant.[13]
The flow field between the shock wave and the body surface is called the shock layer. As the Mach number M increases, the angle of the resulting shock wave decreases. This Mach angle is described as where a is the speed of the sound wave and v is the flow velocity. Since M=v/a, the equation becomes. Higher Mach numbers position the shock wave closer to the body surface, thus at hypersonic speeds, the shock wave lies close to the body surface, resulting in a thin shock layer. At lowReynolds number, the boundary layer is thick and merges with the shock wave, leading to a viscous shock layer.[18]
The compressible flow boundary layer increases proportionately to the square of the Mach number, and inversely to the square root of the Reynolds number.
At hypersonic speeds, this effect becomes much more pronounced, due to the exponential impact of the Mach number. Since the boundary layer becomes so large, it interacts more viscously with the surrounding flow. The overall effect of this interaction is to create much higher skin friction than normal, causing greater surface heat flow. Additionally, surface pressure spikes, which results in a much larger aerodynamicdrag coefficient. This effect is extreme at the leading edge and decreases as a function of length along the surface.[13]
The entropy layer is a region of large velocity gradients caused by the strong curvature of the shock wave. The entropy layer begins at the nose of the aircraft and extends downstream close to the body surface. Downstream of the nose, the entropy layer interacts with the boundary layer which causes an increase in aerodynamic body surface heating. Although the shock wave at the nose at supersonic speeds is also curved, the entropy layer is only observed at hypersonic speeds because the magnitude of the curve is far greater at hypersonic speeds.[13]
Researchers in China used shock waves in a detonation chamber to compress ionizedargon plasma waves moving at Mach 14. The waves were directed intomagnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generators to create a current pulse that could be increased to gigawatt scale, given enough argon gas.[19]
In detonative combustion, the flame front expands atsupersonic speed. It is theoretically up to 25% more efficient than conventionaldeflagrative combustion,[23] potentially enabling increased fuel efficiency.[24][25]
Disadvantages include instability and noise.[citation needed]
Transport consumes energy for three purposes: overcoming gravity, overcoming air/water friction, and achieving terminal velocity. Hypersonics addresses all three. Proponents claim that the net energy costs of hypersonic transport can be lower than those of conventional transport while slashing journey times.[28]
The satellites of the NDSA, in gray, are to be deployed in constellations orbiting Earth, and constantly keep Earth in their view, depicted by the blue cones representing the fields of view of the satellite constellations. The satellites are to intercommunicate and serve the defensive systems arrayed against enemy hypersonic vehicles, and build akill chain against them.
Conversely, the same satellites can be used to track friendly hypersonic weapons and perform battle damage assessment of their strikes against targets.SeeJADC2 (Joint all-domain command and control)
Hypersonic vehicles travel much slower thanballistic (i.e. sub-orbital or fractional orbital) missiles, because they travel in the atmosphere, while ballistic missiles travel in the vacuum above the atmosphere. However, they can use the atmosphere to manoeuvre, enabling large-angle deviations from a ballistic trajectory.[11] Hypersonic glide vehicles are typically launched with a ballistic first stage, then deploys wings and switch to hypersonic flight upon re-entering the atmosphere, allowing the final stage to evade missile defense systems that were designed for purely ballistic missiles.[40]
China's XingKong-2 (星空二号,Starry-sky-2)waverider first flew on 3 August 2018.[45][46][47][48] In August 2021 China launched a boost-glide vehicle to low-earth orbit, circling Earth before maneuvering toward its target location, missing by two dozen miles.[49][50] However China claimed that the vehicle was a spacecraft, and not a missile.[51]
On July 2021 China tested a spaceplane.[52][53][54] An orbital trajectory would take 90 minutes for a spaceplane to circle Earth (which would defeat the mission of a weapon in hypersonic flight).[52]The Pentagon reported in October 2021 that two such hypersonic launches had occurred; one did not demonstrate the accuracy needed for a precision weapon;[49] the second demonstrated its ability to change trajectories.[55]
In 2022, China unveiled two more hypersonic models.[56][57] An AI simulation reported that a Mach 11 aircraft can outrun a Mach 1.3 fighter attempting to engage it, while firing its missile at the "pursuing" fighter. This strategy entails a fire control system to accomplish an over-the-shoulder missile launch, which did not exist as of 2023.[58]
In February 2023, theDF-27 covered 1,900 km (1,200 mi) in 12 minutes, according toleaked secret documents. The capability directly threatens Guam, and US Navy aircraft carriers.[59]
In 2016, Russia is believed to have conducted two successful tests ofAvangard, a hypersonic glide vehicle. The third known test, in 2017, failed.[60] In 2018, an Avangard was launched at theDombarovskiy missile base, reaching its target at theKura shooting range, a distance of 5,955 km (3,700 mi).[61] Avangard used composite materials to withstand temperatures of up to 2,000 °C (3,630 °F), which it experienced at hypervelocity[62] Russia considered its initialcarbon fiber solution to be unreliable,[63] and replaced it with new composite materials.[62] Two Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs)[64] were mounted onSS-19 ICBMs. On 27 December 2019 one was fielded to the Yasnensky Missile Division, a unit in theOrenburg Oblast.[65]In 2021 Russia launched a3M22 Zircon antiship missile (standoff strike weapon) over theWhite Sea, as part of a series of tests.[66][67] In February 2022, a coordinated series of missile exercises, some hypersonic, were launched on 18 February 2022 in an apparent display ofpower projection. The launch platforms ranged from submarines in theBarents Sea, as well as from ships on theBlack Sea south of Russia. The exercise included aRS-24 YarsICBM, which was launched from thePlesetsk Cosmodrome inNorthern Russia and reached its destination on theKamchatka Peninsula inEastern Russia.[68] Ukraine estimated a3M22 Zircon was used against it, but it apparently did not exceed Mach 3 and was shot down 7 February 2024 in Kyiv.[69]
The US launched a joint program across the entireDepartment of Defense to advance its hypersonic missile development around 2018.[70][78] Russian and Chinese tests prompted US responses.[79] By 2018, theAGM-183[80] andLong-Range Hypersonic Weapon[81] were in development.[82] At least one vendor was developing ceramics to handle the temperatures of hypersonic systems.[83] Over a dozen US hypersonic projects were active as of 2018.[82][84][81][85][86][87][88][89] The bulk of the hypersonics work remains at the Joint level.[94] The Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) CFT supportsSpace and Missile Defense Command's pursuit of hypersonics.[97][98] The Army and Navy's Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) successfully tested a prototype in March 2020.[99]
[93] In 2021 a wind tunnel for testing hypersonic vehicles was completed in Texas.[101] The Army's Land-based Hypersonic Missile was intended to have a range of 2,300 km (1,400 mi).[102]: 6 [77][103][104][105][106] By adding rocket propulsion to a shell or glide body, the joint effort shaved five years off the likely fielding time.[107][108] Hypersonics countermeasures require sensor data fusion: both radar and infrared sensor tracking data are required to capture the signature of a hypersonic vehicle in the atmosphere.[113] Privately developed hypersonic systems were under development.[114] Critics offered opinions.[115][116]
DoD tested a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) in 2020.[99][117] The Air Force dropped out of the tri-service hypersonic project in 2020.[118][119][120] Air Force chief scientist, Dr.Greg Zacharias stated that the US anticipated having hypersonic weapons by the 2020s,[121] hypersonic drones by the 2030s, and recoverable hypersonic drone aircraft by the 2040s.[122] DoD development focused on air-breathingboost-glide hypersonics systems.[123] Countering hypersonic weapons during their cruise phase requires longer-range radar, as well as space-based sensors, and systems for tracking and fire control.[123][124][109][125]
In March 2024,Stratolaunch Roc launched TA-1, a vehicle that approached Mach 5 at 10.67 km (6.63 mi) in a powered flight, a risk-reduction exercise for TA-2.[138] In a similar development, Castelion launched its low-cost hypersonic platform in theMojave desert in March 2024.[139]
In 2022, Iran was believed to have constructed a hypersonic missile.Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Air Force of theIslamic Republic of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, announced the construction of their first hypersonic missile.[148] with a speed above Mach 13.[149][150]
As of 202 Australia and the US jointly develop air-launched hypersonic missiles. The development was to build on the $54 million Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) under which both nations collaborated on over a 15-year period.[155] Companies were expected to contribute to the development of these missiles,[156] named SCIFIRE in 2022.[157][136]
As part of their hypersonic vehicle tracking mission, theSpace Development Agency (SDA) launched four satellites and theMissile Defense Agency (MDA) launched two satellites in 2024.[175][176] The satellites shared the same orbit, which allowed the SDA's wide field of view (WFOV) satellites and the MDA's medium field of view (MFOV) downward-looking satellites to traverse the same terrain. The SDA's four satellites are part of its Tranche 0 tracking layer (T0TL). The MDA's two satellites are HBTSS or Hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensors.[e]
Additional capabilities ofTranche 0 of the National defense space architecture (NDSA), also known as the Proliferated warfighting space architecture (PWSA) will be tested.[176][181]
Expendable Hypersonic Air-Breathing Multi-Mission Demonstrator ("Mayhem")[217] Based on§ HAWC and HSSW: "solid rocket-boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile", a follow-on toAGM-183A. As of 2020 no design work had been done. By 2022 Mayhem was to be tasked withISR and strike missions,[218] as a possible bomber.[219][220]Leidos is preparing a system requirements review, and a conceptual design for these missions.[221]Draper Labs has begun a partnership with Leidos.[220]Kratos is preparing a conceptual design for Mayhem, usingAir Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) digital engineering techniques in a System design agent team, a collaboration with Leidos,Calspan, and Draper.[222] DIU is soliciting additional Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT), for Mayhem.[223]
Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC, pronounced "hawk"). September 2021: HAWC is DARPA-funded. Built by Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, HAWC is the first USscramjet-powered hypersonic missile to complete a free flight test in the 2020s.[225][226][128][132][227][102] DARPA's goals for the test, which were successfully met, were: "vehicle integration and release sequence, safe separation from the launch aircraft, booster ignition and boost, booster separation and engine ignition, and cruise".[128] HAWC is capable of sustained, powered maneuver in the atmosphere.[133]: minute 0:55 HAWC appears to depend on a rocket booster to accelerate to scramjet velocities operating in an oxygen-rich environment.[228][229] It is easier to put a seeker on a sub-sonic air-breathing vehicle.[230] In March 2022 a HAWC Scramjet was successfully tested in an air-launched flight.[134][135] On 18 July 2022 Raytheon announced another successful test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) scramjet, in free flight.[128][231] MoHAWC is a follow-on to DARPA's HAWC project.[232]
Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW - pronounced "hacksaw")[120] passed its critical design review (CDR) but this IDIQ (indefinite duration, indefinite quantity)[233] contract was terminated in favor of ARRW because twice as many ARRWs fit on a bomber.[234]
AGM-183A air launched rapid response weapon (ARRW, pronounced "arrow")[227][239][102][240] Telemetry data was successfully transmitted from ARRW —AGM-183A IMV-2 (Instrumented Measurement Vehicle) to Point Mugu ground stations, demonstrating the ability to accurately broadcast radio at hypersonic speeds;[241][242] however, ARRW's launch sequence was not completed.[89][243][244] Hundreds of ARRWs or other Hypersonic weapons are sought by the Air Force.[245] On 9 March 2022 Congress halved funding for ARRW and transferred the balance to ARRW's R&D account to allow for further testing, which puts the procurement contract at risk.[246] Production decision on ARRW was delayed for a year to complete flight testing.[247][248] On 14 May 2022 an ARRW flight test was completed for the first time,[249][250] followed by two others. The Air Force required 3 additional successful tests of an All-Up Round (AUR) before making a production decision.[251] The USAF intended to end the ARRW development program, as of 29 March 2023.[252][253][137][254][255] A B-52 flying out of Anderson AFB in Guam fired an ARRW; the AUR was tested in the Pacific on 17 March 2024.[256] No production decision was made in 2024.[231]
^abAccording to Alex Hollings, as 21 March 2022 no nation has yet successfully fielded ascramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile, including Russia's3M22 Zircon.[38]: minute 10:14 However, tests of DARPA's Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) have now succeeded, using designs by two different vendors in September 2021, and March 2022 respectively.[39]
^In the CSIS report and discussion of Hypersonic missile defense, one of the panelists, Kelley M. Sayler (Congressional Research Service) summarized the situation (as of 7 February 2022) and quoted Michael Griffin's assessment that Hypersonic cruise missiles are 10 to 20 times dimmer than ballistic missiles.[172]: min 19:00–21:00 [173]
^Space development agency (SDA) provides the PWSA wide field of view (WFOV) sensors;Missile defense agency (MDA) provides theHypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) sensors, (i.e., the Medium Field of View (MFOV) sensors). The WFOV sensors provide cueing data to the MFOV sensors, which are more sensitive and provide tipping data to theearth-based interceptors.[177] as cited in USNI News.[178] Two WFOV satellites were launched as part of the inititial Tranche 0.[179][180]
^Winter, Frank (3 August 2000)."V-2 missile".Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. airandspace.si.edu. Archived fromthe original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved16 August 2018.
^abIn, for exampleWaverider hypersonic weapons delivery, China has flown a Mach 5.5 vehicle for 400 seconds, at 30 km altitude, demonstrating large-angle deviations from a ballistic trajectory, as well as recovery of the payload. See
Clark 2019a New additive-process materials to build the combustor of a scramjet; potential integration among members of an intercommunicating swarm of hypersonics systems
^Lu, Frank; Braun, Eric (7 July 2014). "Rotating Detonation Wave Propulsion: Experimental Challenges, Modelling, and Engine Concepts".Journal of Propulsion and Power.30 (5). The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics:1125–1142.doi:10.2514/1.B34802.S2CID73520772.
^Cao, Huan; Wilson, Donald (2013). "Parametric Cycle Analysis of Continuous Rotating Detonation Ejector-Augmented Rocket Engine".49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference.doi:10.2514/6.2013-3971.ISBN978-1-62410-222-6.
^Schwer, Douglas; Kailasanath, Kailas (25 September 2010). "Numerical Investigation of the Physics of Rotating Detonation Engines".Proceedings of the Combustion Institute.33 (2). Elsevier, Inc.:2195–2202.Bibcode:2011PComI..33.2195S.doi:10.1016/j.proci.2010.07.050.
^Liao, Holmes (8 October 2021)."China's Development of Hypersonic Missiles and Thought on Hypersonic Defense".Jamestown.21 (19). Retrieved12 July 2025. Critique of JF-12 hypersonic wind tunnel, as well as the newer JF-22 detonation-driven ultra-high-speed and high-enthalpy shock tunnel (used for XingKong). "PLA strategists fear that the U.S. may deploy hypersonic weapons on the first island chain and/or the second island chain, directly threatening China."
^Gady, Franz-Stefan (14 November 2019)."Russia: Avangard Hypersonic Warhead to Enter Service in Coming Weeks".thediplomat.com. Retrieved12 July 2025. "The Russian Strategic Missile Force will receive the first two ICBMs fitted with the Avangard warhead in late November or early December." The Avangard HGV was codenamed Yu-71, under Project 4202. "In late November – early December, two UR-100N UTTKh missiles equipped with the hypersonic glide vehicles from the first regiment of Avangard systems will assume experimental combat duty in the Dombarovsky division of the Strategic Missile Force,"—Tass, 13 November. The "13th regiment will reportedly be the first unit to receive the two retrofitted SS-19 ICBMs. The regiment is part of the Dombarovskiy (Red Banner) missile division". Eventually 4 more SS-19s fitted with Avangard HGVs will join the 13th Regiment; a second regiment with six Avangard / SS-19s will be stood up by 2027.
^Gregg, Aaron; Hax, Carolyn; Ables, Kelsey; Lee, Joyce; Sacks, Brianna; Davis, Aaron; Dance, Scott; Tran, Andrew; Piper, Imogen (2 August 2019)."In conversations with investors, defense firms double down on hypersonic weapons".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286. Retrieved12 July 2025. As of August 2019, Lockheed reports $3.5 billion in hypersonics work, while Raytheon reports $1.6 billion; Boeing declined to give the value of its hypersonics awards.
^abHarper, Jon (4 March 2020)."Pentagon to Spend Billions Mass-Producing Hypersonic Weapons".www.nationaldefensemagazine.org. Retrieved12 July 2025. "Aero shells that provide thermal protection for the high-speed platforms will be a key component of the systems"
^abFreedberg, Jr., Sydney J. (20 March 2020)."Hypersonics: Army, Navy Test Common Glide Body".Breaking Defense. Retrieved13 July 2025. "The U.S. Navy and U.S. Army jointly executed the launch of a common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), which flew at hypersonic speed to a designated impact point."
^DoD (20 March 2020)."Department of Defense tests hypersonic glide body". "The C-HGB – when fully fielded – will comprise the weapon's conventional warhead, guidance system, cabling, and thermal protection shield." Also: comments from LTG L. Neill Thurgood RCCTO
^Judson, Jen (19 August 2019)."US Missile Defense Agency boss reveals his goals, challenges on the job".Defense News. Retrieved13 July 2025. Increase the discrimination of the radars and other sensors. Use large aperture sensors. Use Space-based missile sensors. An SM-3 Block IIA missile test against ICBM is scheduled for 2020. Plan out the detection, control, and engagement; the sensors, the command-and-control, the fire control, and the weapons (the kill vehicles).
^Clark, Colin (19 June 2019a)."Raytheon, Northrop Will 'Soon' Fly Hypersonic Cruise Missile".Breaking Defense. Retrieved12 July 2025. New additive-process materials to build the combustor of a scramjet; potential integration among members of an intercommunicating swarm of hypersonics systems.
^abDecker, Audrey (28 March 2023)."Failed Hypersonic Test Dims Air Force View of Lockheed Missile".Defense One. Retrieved11 July 2025Air Force R&D funding for ARRW and HACM tests is $150 million and $380 million, respectively. "ARRW and HACM are just two of the U.S. military's hypersonic efforts; in all, the Pentagon is requesting $11 billion for hypersonic R&D in 2024"{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^abCenter for Strategic & International Studies (7 February 2022).Complex Air Defense: Countering the Hypersonic Missile Threat. Retrieved11 July 2025 – via YouTubeDr. Tom Karako, Director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project; Ms. Kelley Sayler, CRS; Dr. Gillian Bussey, Director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office; Dr. Mark Lewis, Executive Director of NDIA's Emerging Technologies Institute; Mr. Stan Stafira, Chief Architect at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA){{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Hitchens, Theresa (15 February 2024)."SDA, MDA missile tracking demonstration payloads blast off".Breaking Defense. Retrieved13 July 2025. "Launching our [SDA] Tracking satellites into the same orbit with the MDA HBTSS satellites is a win for both agencies" —Derek Tournear.
^Insinna, Valerie (12 December 2022)."Air Force successfully tests first fully-operational air-launched hypersonic missile".Breaking Defense. Retrieved11 July 2025AGM-183A ARRW's 1st all-up round was successfully tested, completing its flight path and successfully detonating, after 3 consecutive test failures (Apr, Jul, and Dec 2021), and 2 successful tests of the booster in May and July 2022{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
David Wright and Cameron Tracy, "Over-hyped: Physics dictates thathypersonic weapons cannot live up to the grand promises made on their behalf",Scientific American, vol. 325, no. 2 (August 2021), pp. 64–71. Quote from p. 71: "Failure to fully assess [the potential benefits and costs of hypersonic weapons] is a recipe for wasteful spending and increased global risk."