Pentagon confirms development of hypersonic weapons after US president talks up that ‘super duper missiles’ are 17 times faster than current
An illustration courtesy of the US Air Force shows the X-51A Waverider set to demonstrate hypersonic flight, powered by a scramjet engine. US officials are aware of a new generation of missile threats. Photo: AFP/US Air Force. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.
WASHINGTON D.C., May 16, 2020, Fox News. A Defense Department spokesman on Friday confirmed that the Pentagon is developing hypersonic weapons after President Trump, earlier in the day, claimed the existence of a “super duper missile,” Fox News reported.
“The Department of Defense is working on developing a range of hypersonic missiles to counter our adversaries,” tweeted Jonathan Hoffman, the Defense Department press secretary.
The Department of Defense is working on developing a range of hypersonic missiles to counter our adversaries. https://t.co/ATb1XLHFtl
— Jonathan Rath Hoffman (@ChiefPentSpox) May 15, 2020
During an Oval Office ceremony on Friday afternoon marking the newly unveiled official flag of the U.S. Space Force (USSF), Trump told reporters how the U.S. is building “incredible military equipment.”
“We have — I call it the super duper missile,” the president said, “and I heard the other night 17 times faster than what they have right now, when you take the fastest missile we have right now.”
He added, “You’ve heard Russia has five times and China’s working on five or six times, we have one 17 times and it’s just gotten the go-ahead.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what the president was referring to, and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany directed questions about the weapon to the Pentagon.
Trump on Friday was presented with the newly unveiled official flag of the USSF — the official flag of the first new U.S. military branch in 72 years.
“This is a very special moment,” Trump told reporters and gathered military leaders in the Oval Office. He also signed the 2020 Armed Forces Day Proclamation.
Trump directed the Pentagon to establish the Space Force in 2018, calling for “American dominance in space” — a theme he went back to on Friday.
“China and Russia, perhaps others, have started a lot sooner than us, we should have started this a long time ago but we’ve made up for it in spades,” he said.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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