Hypersonic weapons are commonly touted as new, revolutionary missile technologies. The United States, Russia, and China are racing to acquire them at great expense—$3.2 billion dollars in the most recent US annual defense budget.
But claims regarding the performance of these weapons are rarely backed up with data. Technical analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that hypersonic weapons offer few meaningful advantages over existing missiles in terms of speed, maneuverability, accuracy, stealth, or the evasion of missile defenses. To ensure cost-effective defense spending, and to mitigate the risks associated with an unconstrained arms race, we recommend that the United States slow its development and acquisition of these weapons to better align funding with their limited tactical and strategic utility.
In this report
Flight trajectories of hypersonic boost glide missles
Hypersonic missiles lose much of their initial velocity to drag
Hypersonic missiles take longer to reach their targets than ballistic missiles
Maneuvering of hypersonic missiles reduces their speed and range
The hypersonic missile Race between the United States, Russia, and China
Hypersonic Missile Myths
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Citation
Tracy, Cameron. 2021. "Slowing the Hypersonic Arms Race: a Rational Approach to an Emerging Missile Technology". Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/slowing-hypersonic-arms-race
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