Hypersonic weapons have been all the rage in recent years. Pentagon officials rarely miss an opportunity to tout the importance of accelerating their development amid the department’s prioritization of enhancing conventional deterrence against Russia and China. Plus, there is strong bipartisan support in Congress for the aggressive pursuit of the weapons.
But a closer look suggests all may not be well in hypersonic paradise.
“I’m not satisfied with the pace,” said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall at the Air Force Association Air, Space & Cyber conference about the service’s hypersonic weapon development plans.
“The target set that we would want to address, and why hypersonics are the most cost-effective weapons for the US, I think it’s still, to me, somewhat of a question mark,” the secretary said on Sept. 20. “I haven’t seen all the analysis that’s been done to justify the current program.”
Read the full op-ed, published Sept. 29, 2021, in Breaking Defense.