Esper says new 'high-agility' interceptors needed for hypersonic defense

By Jason Sherman / July 16, 2019 at 1:57 PM
The U.S. military requires new, high-agility interceptors and a layer of space-based sensors to defend against hypersonic threats, the presumed next defense secretary told lawmakers today, shedding new light on Defense Department thinking about elements of a hypersonic defense system. Army Secretary Mark Esper outlined for the Senate Armed Services Committee his views on defending against Russian and Chinese plans to field hypersonic boost-glide vehicles in the 2020s, ultrafast weapons designed to fly at speeds five times the speed of...

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