A Congressional Research Service report says the US is unlikely to be able to deploy combat-ready hypersonic missile systems before 2023.
According to the report, work on programs to create hypersonic missiles in the United States has been underway since the early 2000s. In fiscal year 2023, which begins October 1, these programs received $4.7 billion, up from $3.7 billion last year.
The report goes on to say: “Although funding for these programs has been relatively limited in the past, both the Pentagon and Congress are showing growing interest in the development and immediate deployment of hypersonic systems. This is partly due to advances in these technologies in Russia and China, which have generated increased interest in the US.
The report indicated that it was confirmed that Russia and China had already conducted a large number of successful tests of hypersonic weapons and were most likely published.
At the same time, it is noted that, unlike Russia and China, the hypersonic systems developed in the United States are not designed to equip them with nuclear weapons. Instead, development is focused on creating more accurate conventional weapons.
The report added that the United States is currently working on the creation of hypersonic weapons under eight separate programs at the same time, the most important of which is the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program to create a hypersonic missile with the AGM-183A. aircraft block. In 2021, three attempts were made to test launch a missile from a B-52H Stratofortress over the Point Mugu test site near California, which ended in failure.
Only in May and July 2022 were the tests successful.
Source: Interfax