Issue Briefs

Why The U.S. Can And Must Win The Race For Hypersonic Weapons (From RealClearDefence)

Daniel Goure

November 4th, 2020.

Winning the race to deploy hypersonic weapons will be one of the most important achievements in U.S. national security of the 21st Century. For the U.S. and its allies, hypersonic weapons are more than a counterbalance to Russia and China. They hold out the prospect for fundamentally undermining competitors’ massive investments in so-called anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. The Department of Defense has put together a well-thought-out and funded program to provide all Services with hypersonic weapons. Equally important, the aerospace and defense industries of the U.S. and several allies are demonstrating the technical expertise and innovative approaches that are likely to make hypersonic weapons a near-term reality. I have written a commentary for RealClearDefence  here.

The views and opinions expressed in this issue brief are those of the author.

Daniel Gouré, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute. Goure has a background in the public sector and U.S. federal government, most recently serving as a member of the 2001 Department of Defense Transition Team.