US, China in hypersonic weapon ‘arms race’: officialReuters, WASHINGTONThe US and China are engaged in an arms race to develop the most lethal hypersonic weapons, US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said on Tuesday, as Beijing and Washington build and test an increasing number of the high-speed next-generation arms. “There is an arms race, not necessarily for increased numbers, but for increased quality,” Kendall said in an interview at his Pentagon offices. “It’s an arms race that has been going on for quite some time. Hypersonic weapons travel in the upper atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200kph. Arms makers Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp have all touted their hypersonic weapons programs to investors as the world’s focus shifts to the new arms race for an emerging class of weapons.

Source: Taipei Times December 02, 2021 06:05 UTC