I find that narrative that the Russians are ahead of us in hypersonic tech dubious. In the 1960s the SR 71 flew at 3/5ths hypersonic speed (Mach 3, hypersonic is Mach 5) and the rumored replacement, the SR 72, is fully hypersonic.
So 60+ years ago we had a MANNED craft that was nearly hypersonic but now we dont have UNMANNED missiles that are? Like I said, dubious.
Right now the Russians have hypersonic missiles with greater range than anything in the NATO arsenal but it is hard to gauge exactly IF that is even true.
We can speculate that they employed hyper sonic missiles or certain laser tech. More likely a hyper sonic missile package.
Currently what we know publicly is that the Russians are ahead of the west when it comes to hyper sonic missiles.
I find that narrative that the Russians are ahead of us in hypersonic tech dubious. In the 1960s the SR 71 flew at 3/5ths hypersonic speed (Mach 3, hypersonic is Mach 5) and the rumored replacement, the SR 72, is fully hypersonic.
So 60+ years ago we had a MANNED craft that was nearly hypersonic but now we dont have UNMANNED missiles that are? Like I said, dubious.
Right now the Russians have hypersonic missiles with greater range than anything in the NATO arsenal but it is hard to gauge exactly IF that is even true.