Hypersonic weapons can take missile warfare, particularly nuclear warfare, to a new -- and, for many, frightening -- level. "Delivering hypersonic weapons is one of the department's highest technical research and engineering priorities," the Pentagon said. In December, Russia declared it had placed into service its first Avangard hypersonic missile, making it the first country to claim an operable hypersonic weapon. Last October it displayed its DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle in its national day military parade. A senior NATO official warned that in a hypersonic missile strike, it may not even be clear what the target is "until there's a boom on the ground."

Source: Daily Nation March 20, 2020 22:18 UTC