DOD Successfully Tests Hypersonic Glide Body

The U.S. Department of Defense successfully tested a hypersonic glide body in a flight experiment held at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

This event is a major milestone toward the department’s goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.

Both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army had a hand in the launch of a common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), which flew at hypersonic speed to a chosen impact point. The Missile Defense Agency also monitored and gathered tracking data from the flight experiment that will advise on its ongoing development of systems designed to defense against enemy hypersonic weapons.

The information gathered from the launch and future experiments will further inform the DOD’s hypersonic technology development.

The Navy and Army are working closely with industry to develop the C-HGB with Navy as the lead designer, and Army as the lead for production. Each service will use the C-HGB, while developing individual weapon systems and launchers adapted for launch from sea or land.