The U.S. military says it has successfully tested a supersonic missile, a technology first developed by China and Russia.
Darpa, the U.S. military’s science division, said in a statement that the rocket fired from a plane covered a distance of 300 nautical miles (550 kilometers) at five times the speed of sound (at least 6,100 km / h) and reached a height of 20,000 meters.
This was the second test of the HAWC aerobic propulsion missile (Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept). The previous one, in September, was done using a different launch system, according to Darpa.
CNN reported that the test took place in mid-March but was kept secret to avoid escalation of tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This Lockheed Martin HAWC test demonstrated the success of a second model that will allow our soldiers to select the best equipment to dominate the battlefield,” said HAWC Program Director Andrew Nendler.
The Pentagon is also developing the ARRW supersonic missilethe first test of which, however, in April 2020, failed.
Ultrasonic rockets fly at enormous speeds, at low altitudes, and have the ability to change direction in flight without following a linear, predictable trajectory, making them more difficult to intercept. China tested a supersonic rocket that orbited the Earth in August and then landed at its target, losing it for several kilometers. Russia last month claimed to have used two supersonic missiles in Ukraine, targeting a fuel depot in the south and an underground missile and ammunition depot near Ivano-Frankivsk in the west.
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