US not in hypersonic weapons ‘arms race’ with China and Russia, DOD official says

The top Defense Department official focuses on Hypersonic weapons Does not believe that the United States is engaged in an arms race against it China And Russia.

On Friday, a group of defense officials gave evidence to a House subcommittee about the U.S. hypersonic weapon program. These systems travel five times faster than sound and are more maneuverable than those of adversaries.

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“It is important to note that the United States is not engaged in an arms race, but instead, hypersonic strike systems are needed to preserve deterrence because they offer a critical regional advanced strike capability that will complement existing joint force strike options,” Michael White, principal director for Hypersonics in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering told the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

White responded to questions about what constitutes an arms race. “I define an arms race in the traditional sense of a numerical parity. They have 47 widgets, so we need 50.”

Dr. Michael Horowitz, director of the Emerging Capabilities Policy Office for the Pentagon, informed subcommittees that the department is planning on. “develop conventionally armed regionally based hypersonic weapons.”

“Offensive hypersonic systems will be especially critical on a battlefield where the adversary has deployed high-end defensive and anti-access systems designed to