Hudson Institute and Space Foundation recently held a workshop focused on the future of hypersonic missile programs in the United States and among its allies. The event included participation from Congressmen Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Vince Fong (R-CA), and Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr., and former defense officials Mike White and John Plumb.
The discussion centered on five main points regarding the development, deployment, and defense against hypersonic missiles.
First, participants emphasized that hypersonic capabilities are essential for deterring adversaries and maintaining strategic balance. Congressman Doug Lamborn stated, “I think it’s destabilizing to let a significant capability be in the hands of adversaries and us not to have that same capability.” He added, “Our military commanders tell us that they will need to potentially strike a specific set of highly important targets, that are at a great distance, early in a conflict, with a high degree of confidence of success. Right now, we only have slow cruise missiles with limited range or ballistic missiles with predictable trajectories. These weapons will not get the job done when the enemy has a full magazine of missile defense interceptors. We need something that can go fast, go far, and evade defenses.”
Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr. commented on deterrence: “I would say that when Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin wake up in the morning and thinks about, ‘Okay, I’m going to make my big move today.’ You want them to say, ‘Well, maybe not today.’” He also noted the importance of scale in producing air-launched hypersonic weapons for various operational needs.
Second, panelists discussed the need for American forces to develop effective defenses against hypersonic threats. Admiral Winnefeld shared his experience tracking high-speed aircraft: “The first time one of our troops—whether Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force, you name it—sees a hypersonic weapon cannot be in combat…” Congressman Lamborn highlighted sensor development: “Fundamental to our defense is developing sensors that can provide quality fire control data to our effectors. I was pleased to see HBTSS [the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor] launched earlier this year…” He stressed accelerating interceptor development by 2029 through legislative direction.
John Plumb explained how new interceptor concepts could increase defensive opportunities: “The Glide Phase Interceptor concept pushes that kind of defense range out farther… generally speaking, if a missile’s maneuvering… maybe it reduces its ability to maneuver an endgame.”
Third, speakers addressed challenges facing the US defense industrial base in scaling advanced systems. Congressman Lamborn argued for more frequent testing: “We do not test enough… right now, we hardly test every quarter.” He advocated for bolstering programs like Mach-TB as part of Pentagon priorities.
Congressman Vince Fong referenced lessons from recent global supply chain disruptions: “As my colleague said, if we learned anything from the pandemic, we are too reliant on China and other countries for the things that we need…” Admiral Winnefeld described scenarios requiring different types of hypersonic weapons depending on mission requirements.
Fourth, cooperation with allied nations was identified as key to accelerating technological progress. Mike White remarked on working with partners: “We’re not in an arms race… but we are in a capability race… bringing our allies on board to accelerate the maturation of the capability… is going to be critical.” Congressman Lamborn suggested Australia could help expand testing opportunities over land rather than water.
Congressman Norcross pointed out strategic locations where partnerships matter most: “We’re talking about a layered defense and what will take place in the defense of Guam… having partner countries… incredibly important when we’re trying to forward deploy many of the things that we would need if there was conflict to break out.”
Finally, regulatory barriers were cited as obstacles needing reform so industry can respond faster. Admiral Winnefeld commented on bureaucracy: “The MTCR [Missile Technology Control Regime] moves with the speed of bureaucracy.” Congressman Norcross raised concerns about launch delays caused by regulatory agencies such as FAA: “FAA now has their foot in the door… just by slowing things down.”
Congressman Fong concluded by stressing public-private partnerships as commercial space companies play an increasing role supporting national security launches: “Now that SpaceX is one of the partners that helps us launch DoD and other sensitive missions into space… having the commercial-DoD public-private partnership—that’s critical for us…”
The workshop highlighted both ongoing challenges and potential strategies as Washington seeks to maintain technological advantage amid growing international competition in hypersonics.
