Britain plans to equip its armed forces with a home-made hypersonic cruise missile by the end of the decade, according to a report.
Military chiefs are under pressure to catch up to China, Russia and the US by developing a weapon capable of flying at speeds exceeding Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
The Ministry of Defense wants the missile to be designed and built in the UK and enter service by 2030.
Plans are at an early stage, the newspaper reported, although there has been no decision on whether the missile will be launched from land, sea or air.
This comes after the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defense until 2030.
Ballistic weapons can also reach hypersonic speeds, but the difference is in maneuverability – ballistic weapons generally have fixed trajectories, but a hypersonic weapon’s trajectory can be altered after launch, making it difficult to destroy.
The US, Russia and China are the main players in the hypersonic weapons race, but other countries, such as North Korea, claim to have tested hypersonic weapons.
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The development of hypersonic capabilities is part of the second pillar of AUKUS – a defense and security pact between the UK, Australia and the US.
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Last month, the US tested a hypersonic cruise missile on an atoll in the Marshall Islands, in a message to its Pacific rival – China. It is the latest in a series of hypersonic weapons tests the country has completed in recent years.
An MoD spokesperson declined to comment in detail on the development of Britain’s hypersonic missile capability, citing national security, but confirmed that “hypersonic technologies to further develop the UK’s sovereign advanced capabilities” were being pursued .
“We continue to invest in our equipment to face current and future threats,” they added.
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