OREANDA-NEWS. Until the end of 2020, the Pentagon plans to conduct four test launches of hypersonic missiles as part of a "very aggressive" expansion of the corresponding military program. This writes the American media with reference to American officials.

“By the end of the year, we will launch different samples at least four times”, said Mike White, assistant to the head of the Defense Ministry. Missiles are capable of flying at a speed that is five times the speed of sound, and at the same time maneuver, the agency notes.

Bloomberg points out that on January 24, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper called hypersonic weapons a key part of the “great confrontation” with China. According to him, the United States has significantly accelerated work in this direction, and the army will be able to get such weapons years earlier than planned.

Senior US officials and military regularly recognize the US lag in hypersonic weapons. This is against the backdrop of statements by President Vladimir Putin, who claims that Russia has created hypersonic weapons that have no analogues in the world. One of the U.S. Department of Defense’s key hypersonic contractors is Lockheed Martin. She signed contracts with the military department for more than $ 1 billion.