Michael Griffin, undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense, has said the Pentagon has begun to ramp up efforts to build hypersonic weapons as Russia and China advance development work on the technology, DoD News reported Thursday.Griffin said Thursday at a National Defense Industrial Association-sponsored event in Washington that DoD considers developing boost-glide, air-breathing hypersonic platforms.
He noted that the U.S. needs to come up with space-based sensors and other new systems designed to counter hostile hypersonics in their long-cruise phase.
“We can’t separate hypersonics defense from the space layer,†Griffin added.
Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan joined Griffin at the Hypersonics Senior Executive Series event.
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