Britain aims to develop and deploy a hypersonic missile. The project is planned to be completed by 2030, reports The Telegraph. According to the publication, Britain’s military leadership wants to have hypersonic weapons to catch up with the US, China, and Russia in this regard.
The British Ministry of Defence wants the missile to be developed and manufactured entirely in Britain, with the final deadline set for 2030.
It is believed that missile plans are still in the early stages, with no decision yet made on whether the missiles will be launched from land, sea, or air. One option is to install missiles on Typhoon or F-35 fighter jets, but then the range would be less than ground-launched weapons. The missiles could also be launched from British military ships.
Since the end of last year, the Ministry of Defence has assembled a group of around 80 companies to develop potential projects. The agreement was finalized in December and dubbed a “national mission.”
Sources involved in the project said that building the missiles would be particularly challenging because some of the required materials do not yet exist, meaning they need to be developed from scratch to withstand the high temperatures associated with hypersonic speeds.
