The Long-Term Prospects for Hypersonic Weapons

At an advanced high-speed test in the New Mexico desert Nov. 26, Boeing Phantom Works and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory began attempting to solve the problem of safely releasing ordnance from inside an airframe traveling at high supersonic speeds. The test was a small but potentially important step toward the Pentagon's long-range goal of establishing the capability to strike at intercontinental distances with conventional weapons.