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Russia, China, and the US are in a hypersonic weapons arm race — and officials warn the US could be falling behind

Comments by US officials about Russia and China's recent gains have led some to believe that the US is currently losing the race — but it's not that simple.

  • Russia, China, and the US are competing in a hypersonic weapons arms race.
  • These weapons can travel at above mach 5 and are maneuverable, making them extremely difficult to intercept.
  • Comments by US officials about Russia and China's recent gains have led some to believe that the US is currently losing the race.
  • The situation is more complex — Russia and China appear to be ahead of the US in terms of nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons, but the US is leading the way in hypersonic weapons that carry conventional payloads.

Three of the most powerful nations on Earth — Russia, China, and the US — are in an arms race for hypersonic weapons and the US might be lagging behind.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this week that "hypersonics is the number one priority," for the US military's research and development.

"Both having them for ourselves, but also the defense against them. It is our number one priority in the developing technology" realm, he said.

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Hypersonic weapons, along with AI, direct energy weapons, and robotics "will change the character of war," Mattis explained in his opening statement.

There are two types of hypersonic weapons — hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs), and hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs). Both are capable of traveling at

Russia has openly bragged about its hypersonic ambitions and successes. Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a number of new weapons at his State of the Union address in March, two of which were hypersonic — an HCM and an HGV.

The HCM is called the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, which is Russian for "Dagger." The missile is launched from an aircraft and reportedly has a top speed of has a range of

Kinzhal

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"We don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us," Hyten said.

The general said that the only "defense" the US had was the threat of nuclear retaliation, adding, "our response would be our deterrent force, which would be the Triad and the nuclear capabilities that we have to respond to such a threat."

China has the only known operational HGV, known as the

Compared to these developments and the numerous statements by US officials warning about the danger of falling behind Russia and China in the race for hypersonics, there is a belief that the US may already be last place.

But some experts cast doubt on those beliefs, at least in some ways.

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"The evidence available in the open source suggests to me that the US is still the leader in these technologies," James Acton, a senior fellow and co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told Business Insider. He warned, however, that that lead "is not guaranteed forever."

Acton points out that the US has been researching hypersonic technology for over a decade. "If you look at the US program holistically, we’ve done a lot more than Russia and China have," he said.

There are at least three different HGV or HGV related projects that the US is undertaking — the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, which seen at least three tests, the Tactical Boost Glide Program, and the Advanced Full Range Engine program.

The US was also one of the first countries to test a hypersonic cruise missile, in the form of the Boeing-made X-51 Waverider in 2010.

Additionally, the Air Force recently awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $1 billion for the development of an HCM.

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Acton also notes that "Russian and Chinese objectives appear to be a lot less demanding than US objectives." Specifically, Russia and China seem to be focusing on equipping their hypersonic weapons with nuclear warheads, whereas the US is focused on conventional weapons.

Hypersonics were "always intended for conventional use," according to George Nacouzi, a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation.

"As a matter of fact, one of the potential uses involved not putting a warhead on HGVs at all, since it is going so fast that it could destroy relatively hard targets with kinetic energy alone," Nacouzi told Business Insider.

While still extremely dangerous, and challenging to build in their own way, nuclear hypersonics do not require the level of precision that conventional hypersonic weapons require.

"Every indication is that the US does not have any intention of putting nuclear warheads on hypersonic glide vehicles," Nacouzi said, adding that "it's apparent that Russia and China do plan on equipping hypersonic weapons with nuclear warheads."

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Russian and Chinese hypersonic development is likely focused on defeating US missile defense systems. “Both these nations, China and Russia — especially Russia — have been pretty vocal about their worries about the US' missile defenses. They worry that if the US can defeat their missiles, then their deterrence value goes away," Nacouzi said.

“Hypersonic weapons, specifically hypersonic glide vehicles, would be able to at least get past those defenses," he added.

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