The Speed of War: America’s Hypersonic Crossroads
08/31/2025
Picture a weapon with the same range and payload as a Tomahawk cruise missile, but instead of cruising at Mach 0.7, it screams across the sky at Mach 7. This isn’t science fiction. It’s the reality of hypersonic weapons, and America stands at a critical decision point that could reshape global military balance.
After years of false starts and shifting priorities, the United States finally has two tactical hypersonic systems approaching deployment. But the window for maintaining strategic advantage is narrowing, and the choice facing military planners is stark: deploy capable systems now or risk ceding the hypersonic high ground to rivals who have been moving aggressively.
The Long Road to Hypersonics
America’s hypersonic journey began with promise during the Bush administration, when visionaries like Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Lewis championed transformative air power capabilities. But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan fundamentally altered defense priorities. Resources shifted from future technologies to immediate battlefield needs, cutting programs like the F-22 fighter and B-2 bomber while hypersonics development took a back seat.
This strategic pivot created an unintended consequence. As military strategist Jim Molan warned, America risked fighting future wars with fighters and bombers that were 20 to 30 years old, potentially unable to project sufficient power to deter China in the Western Pacific. The focus on today’s wars created tomorrow’s strategic blind spot.
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