This tag team should dramatically improve development speed while sharing the cost and further strengthening the two nations’ long-standing military alliance capabilities.
According to the MOD, the new missile should be able to reach speeds of over Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound, or roughly 3,800 mph (6,100 kph). According to a MOD press release, 233 test runs were carried out at several hypersonic speeds, marking a critical step forward in UK Defence capabilities.
Major UK hypersonic milestone
Once developed, the missile will provide what the MOD calls a “transformational capability that delivers operational advantage for the future UK armed forces.”
“We are living in a more dangerous world, and it has never been more important for us to innovate and stay ahead of our adversaries, equipping our forces with the technologies of the future,” explained the UK’s Defence Secretary, John Healey.