US in denial of a hypersonic gap with China, Russia - Asia Times

As China and Russia make new advances in hypersonic weapons technology, the US is increasingly focused on developing counter-hypersonic technologies to address the emerging threat.

In a US Department of Defense (DOD) press interview last week, US Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks rejected the notion that the US is falling behind in the development and fielding of hypersonic weapons.

She also stated that looking at emerging hypersonic weapons technologies from China, Russia and the US as an arms race can be misleading.

Hicks noted that the US has several concepts on how to defend against and when to use hypersonic weapons, emphasizing that the US focuses on developing the capabilities it needs for warfare rather than a tit-for-tat technology match against its near-peer adversaries.

Hicks also stressed that the US has a different perspective on hypersonics than China and Russia. She noted that Russia has used hypersonic weapons with no noticeable effect on the course of the Ukraine war, hinting at the possibly overhyped implications of such