The United States has completed two successful test flights of a new reusable hypersonic aircraft capable of travelling at five times the speed of sound.
The Mach 5-tech development sees the US edge closer to rival superpowers China and Russia in the hypersonic arms race.
Russia has already used hypersonic missiles to attack Ukraine which travel at around 3,500mph, making them difficult to intercept.
America’s latest addition to its vast array of military aircraft can attack from great distances, manoeuvre in ways that aim to deceive anti-aircraft defences and are capable of carrying both conventional explosives and nuclear warheads, according to the Pentagon.
Due to pressure to match both China’s and Russia’s hypersonic breakthroughs, the Pentagon, whose funding for its development has lagged over the last few years, enlisted two tech startups – Stratolaunch and Ursa Major – to help develop the aircraft.
The test flights were carried out in December 2024 and March of this year, with an autonomous Talon-A drone being carried up from the Mojave Desert by a larger Roc carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean.
The aircraft reached speeds of Mach 5 during the flights, the hypersonic threshold, according to the Pentagon.
At these speeds, hypersonic missiles and aircraft are capable of travelling or striking any region on Earth within less than an hour’s flight time.
The Talon-A2’s reusability is a welcome advancement in hypersonic technology, allowing faster turnaround between missions and reducing costs.
Zachary Krevor, CEO of Stratolaunch, one of the start-ups brought in to help develop the technology alongside the Pentagon, said: “We’ve now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery and proven reusability.
“Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company and our partners.”
The test marked the US’ return to reusable hypersonic flight trials for the first time since the manned X-15 program ended nearly 60 years ago. The North American X-15 hypersonic aircraft was operated by NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
In 1967, it reached its highest speed of 4,520 mph. The program allowed 12 pilots to fly on nearly 200 flights. Some pilots were even classified as astronauts by exceeding 50 miles in altitude.
