Washington: The US military recently tested a hypersonic missile that flew 17 times faster than the speed of sound, a senior defence official said.
The defence official, according to Thursday's report, said they tested a hypersonic glide body that was a success. The report added that the missile test was conducted in March over the Pacific Ocean.
Moreover, the defence official said that the US military will test a hypersonic cruise missile later this year. The report said, citing US officials, that the hypersonic missiles being developed by the United States will not be nuclear-capable.
Since May, US President Donald Trump has made comments about a hypersonic missile that is '17 times faster' than any other missile.
On June 30, Department of defence director of defence research and engineering for modernization Mark Lewis said that the United States is looking to conduct its first test flights of completed hypersonic prototype weapons by 2025 with deployable weapons by the second half of the decade.
The defence department plans to carry out at least 40 flight tests of hypersonic missiles over the Pacific Ocean in the next four years.
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(With inputs from ANI)
