The US Defense Department says it has successfully tested an unarmed hypersonic missile, a weapon that could potentially overwhelm other missile defense systems.
The Pentagon said Friday the test was conducted successfully on Thursday in the US state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean.
The test missile flew along the upper atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, which is over five times the speed of sound, to a designated impact point, the Pentagon said.
"Today we validated our design and are now ready to move to the next phase towards fielding a hypersonic strike capability," Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe, the director of the US Navy strategic systems programs, said in a statement.
The Pentagon, which tested a similar hypersonic missile in 2017, has a goal of fielding hypersonic technology in the early to mid-2020s
Hypersonic weapons can take missile and nuclear warfare to a new and more threatening level since they can travel much faster than current ballistic and cruise missiles, at different altitudes and with the maneuverability that makes them difficult to track and target with current missile defense systems.
Both Russia and China are developing similar military capabilities as they seek to field the technology and erode America’s military dominance.
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