The Hypersonic Arms Race is Heating Up
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2024 budget shows that the U.S. – as a late starter — has fully entered the hypersonic weapons arms race with China […] More
Hypersonic Weapons
Is the U.S. About to Enter a New Big Power Nuclear Arms Race?
OPINION — I raise that question after having heard Air Force General Anthony J. Cotton, the relatively new Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), last […] More
The Hypersonic Arms Race
U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan recently warned that the U.S. “is not moving fast enough to stay ahead” of its rivals in space, specifically […] More
U.S. Increases Investment in Hypersonic Weapons
Congress has decided to accelerate the Trump administration’s movement into the age of hypersonic weapons. These weapons are designed to travel at Mach 6 or […] More
The Latest
Best Of: Railguns: The Fast, the Furious—and the Future?
For this year’s Fourth of July feature, The Cipher Brief revisits its coverage examining the concept of an electromagnetic railgun. Capable of firing projectiles at […] More
Best Of: The Revolution of the Railgun
For this year’s Fourth of July feature, The Cipher Brief revisits its coverage on electromagnetic railguns. Capable of firing projectiles at speeds of Mach 7 […] More
Best Of: A Scalable, Adaptable and Powerful Weapon
For this year’s Fourth of July feature, The Cipher Brief revisits its coverage on electromagnetic railguns. Capable of firing projectiles at speeds of Mach 7 […] More
The Future of Hypersonic Weapons
Over the next few years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to demonstrate two air-launched hypersonic weapons (HSW) concepts; the Turbo Boost Glide and the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept. […] More
The Rise of Hypersonic Weapons
A hypersonic missile launched from mainland China could strike a U.S. carrier group located anywhere in the South China Sea in under 20 minutes. That’s […] More
Unsettling the Existing Balances
In recent years, defense analysts have increasingly turned their attention to the development of hypersonic weapons, a class of systems intended to strike fast, at […] More
The Role of Arms Control
Hypersonic weapons will be capable of carrying nuclear warheads, yet so far there is little discussion on the role of arms control. The Cipher Brief […] More