Understanding hypersonic weapons

The story so far: On Saturday, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov said the “Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.” On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that Russia used hypersonic missiles in its offensive in Ukraine. And — but — with the same warhead on it as a — as any other launched missile.” Stating that it doesn’t make that much difference, except it’s “almost impossible to stop it,” he said, adding: “There’s a reason they’re using it.” Last October, top U.S. military officer Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff confirmed that China had conducted a test of a hypersonic weapon which he termed was “close to a Sputnik moment” and was “very concerning”, referring to the event in 1957 when the Soviet Union put the first satellite in space. Talking of the test in November, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that tests were almost complete and the Russian Navy would start receiving them in 2022.“Now, it is especially important to develop and implement the technologies necessary to create new hypersonic weapons systems, high-powered lasers and robotic systems that will be able to effectively counter potential military threats, which means they will further strengthen the security of our country,” he said The U.S. has tested hypersonic weapons for decades. While the U.S. has active hypersonic development programmes, the CRS memo said it was lagging behind China and Russia because “most U.S. hypersonic weapons, in contrast to those in Russia and China, are not being designed for use with a nuclear warhead.” “As a result, U.S. hypersonic weapons will likely require greater accuracy and will be more technically challenging to develop than nuclear-armed Chinese and Russian systems,” it stated The U.S. is now looking to accelerate its own programmes, though it is unlikely to field an operational system before 2023.