US hypersonic missile test was 'kept quiet' amid escalating tensions with Russia

dailystar.co.uk:

hypersonic missile last month, with a Pentagon official saying that the launch was “kept quiet” due to the tensions over Ukraine.

The test came days after Russia announced that it had used its own hypersonic missile to destroy an ammunition warehouse in western Ukraine.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that it was "hard to know what exactly the justification" was for Russia’s use of the highly advanced weapon, saying that the 9,000mph missile was a “pretty significant sledgehammer to take out a target like that”.At the time of the US test, US President Joe Biden was on his way to Europe for a meeting with NATO leaders, stopping off in Poland for discussion with Ukraine's foreign minister and defence minister.The US test had already been postponed once by the Pentagon, for fear of escalating tensions with Russia last such a “sensitive time”.The hypersonic missile was launched from a USAF B-52 bomber, before using its own air-breathing scramjet engine to accelerate to speeds in the region of Mach 5 (around 3,800mph).The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) missile flew above 65,000 feet and for more than 300 miles.

Even flying at the lower end of the hypersonic range it could complete the 300-mile journey in around five minutes.The missile carries no explosive warhead, relying instead on its enormous speed to destroy its targets.It was first tested in September last year, when Andrew "Tippy" Knoedler from weapons workshop DARPA said "The HAWC free flight test was a successful demonstration of the capabilities that will make hypersonic cruise missiles a highly effective tool for our warfighters.“This brings us one step closer to transitioning HAWC to a program of record that offers next.