1
Hypersonic Weapons
No. 18May 2019
BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Hypersonic weapons are coming online just as
the United States shifts its focus back to great
power competition as its most pressing national
security threat. To China and Russia – both of
whom are rapidly modernizing their military
capabilities and seeking ways to expand the
role of nuclear weapons in their strategies–the
unique characteristics of hypersonic systems
(including their ability to render useless all
current U.S. missile defenses) represent a
perfect opportunity to take the lead in a high-
stakes technological eld.
Because of their speed and maneuverability,
it would be nearly impossible to predict what
facilities (or even what country) is being targeted
if a country detected the launch of one of these
weapons. Moreover, it would be impossible to
know for certain the type of warhead it carries,
meaning that a conventional strike could easily
be mistaken for a preemptive nuclear attack.
The Russians may see destruction of the U.S.
national command authority in a pre-emptive
nuclear strike as a means to win a nuclear
war because it could delay any U.S. decision
to retaliate until after the main Russia nuclear
attack arrives or even prevent a U.S. decision to
retaliate or its execution.
After booster burnout of a hypersonic boost
glide vehicle or other hypersonic missiles (all
types of hypersonic missiles require rocket
boosters) we will lose track of it. It evades attack
conrmation by U.S. early warning radars. Since
we don’t get radar tracking data, we don’t know
where the missiles will impact until they do or
just seconds before.
Hypersonic weapons are what Beijing sees as
asymmetric forms of “assassin’s mace weapons”
have been China’s weapons of choice to hold the
U.S. military and its bases in Asia at risk.
According to Michael Grin, U.S. Undersecretary
of Defense for Research and Engineering,
“a space-based hypersonic defense is not a
practical approach, in my way of thinking. Even
if you had space-based interceptors, it would
be technically the wrong way to do it. The role
for satellites and space surveillance is in the
indications of warning, the launch detection, the
surveillance, acquisition, tracking — the whole
arena of persistent global timely awareness.”
Hypersonic Weapons: A Primer
By Margot van Loon
I
n today’s Department of Defense, one of the most crucial missions is
known as “conventional prompt global strike” (CPGS). The complex
title belies a simple objective: in the most basic terms, CPGS seeks to
guarantee the ability to strike a target any time at any place in the world
in under an hour.
1
Of the multiple capabilities being pursued to achieve
this objective, hypersonic weapons are rapidly becoming one of the most
vital – and the most hotly debated.
Velocity and maneuverability are the variables that transform
traditional missile capabilities into this exotic new class of weapons.
As the name implies, anything traveling five times faster than the
speed of sound can be considered “hypersonic.” From there, hypersonic
capabilities fall into two general categories: cruise missiles capable of
Mach 5+ speeds; and boost glide vehicles, which are launched via rocket
but then can glide unpowered upon reentry into the atmosphere while
maneuvering and steering, and do so for thousands of kilometers.
2
What’s the hype?
The advent of hypersonic weapons has been described as a
“renaissance” in the field of missilery.
Indeed, while the concepts of a
supersonic weapon that could be controlled and maneuvered have been
Hypersonic Weapons: A Primer 1
Margot van Loon
Hypersonic Weapons in China’s Military Strategies 4
Dr. Larry Wortzel
Moscow’s Development of Hypersonic Missiles… 10
and What It Means
Dr. Mark B. Schneider
Notes 15
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY COUNCIL
DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM BRIEF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Margot van Loon is a Junior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council,
where her research focuses on defense policy, arms control, and international
cooperation. As a 2018 Rosenthal Fellow, she served in the policy oce for
countering weapons of mass destruction at the Department of Defense, and
previously worked in the Oce of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology, and Logistics. She holds an MPP (International and Global Aairs) from
the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a BA in International Studies from
American University.
By: Margot van Loon, Dr. Larry Wortzel, and Dr. Mark B. Schneider
