Battles & Wars › Modern conflicts › Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
Hypersonic missiles
deployed from 2019; first combat use claimed 2022· Invention or discovery· Weapons, armor & warships
Mostly agreedGood evidence; some details, dates or numbers uncertain.
Missiles that fly faster than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) while maneuvering, making them hard to track and intercept.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Ballistic missile warheads have long fallen at hypersonic speed, but on predictable arcs. The new weapons maneuver. Glide vehicles, such as Russia's Avangard (2019) and China's DF-17, ride a rocket up, then skim the upper atmosphere for thousands of kilometers. Hypersonic cruise missiles, such as Russia's Zircon, use air-breathing engines. Russia's Kinzhal, an air-launched ballistic missile, is often grouped with them. The United States, after delays, is fielding its own, such as the Army's Dark Eagle.
Why it matters
They cut warning times to minutes and can slip past missile defenses, fueling a new arms race among the US, Russia and China.
How we know
Russian and Chinese military statements and parades, US Defense Department and Congressional Research Service reports, flight-test records, and debris from missiles fired in Ukraine.
Still debated
Some physicists argue their advantages over ordinary ballistic missiles are overstated; how well Russia's and China's actually perform is uncertain.
Connections (3)
▸Hypersonic missiles can ride atop an Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)Well documented
The connection
A hypersonic glide vehicle needs a big rocket to reach speed and altitude. Russia's Avangard rides atop an SS-19 ICBM, then separates and glides toward its target, maneuvering instead of falling on a predictable arc. China tested a glide vehicle launched into partial orbit in 2021.
When and how
Russia declared Avangard operational in December 2019 at a base in the Orenburg region; China's orbital test took place in summer 2021.
How we know
Russian Defense Ministry announcements, US inspectors' viewing of Avangard under the New START treaty in 2019, and US officials' confirmation of China's test.
Debates and open questions
Avangard's real speed and accuracy, and how many are deployed, are not public; Russia claims speeds above Mach 20.
▸Hypersonic missiles saw their first claimed combat use in the Russia–Ukraine warMostly agreed
The connection
Russia said it used its air-launched Kinzhal against an underground depot in western Ukraine on March 18, 2022, the first claimed combat use of a hypersonic missile. More Kinzhals and, reportedly, Zircons followed. In May 2023 Ukraine shot a Kinzhal down with a US Patriot, denting its image as unstoppable.
When and how
Deliatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, March 2022; the Patriot interception came over Kyiv in May 2023.
How sure are we?
Russian Defense Ministry statements, Ukrainian Air Force reports, recovered debris, and US confirmation of the Patriot interception.
Debates and open questions
Many analysts call the Kinzhal an air-launched ballistic missile, not a true maneuvering hypersonic weapon, so whether this counts as the first use is debated.
▸Hypersonic missiles may unsettle the balance of Nuclear weapons and deterrenceDebated
The connection
Putin unveiled Avangard in 2018 as an answer to US missile defenses, saying it guaranteed Russia's ability to retaliate. Because hypersonic weapons arrive with little warning on unpredictable paths, and may carry nuclear or conventional warheads, critics fear a defender could misread an attack and escalate.
When and how
Putin's March 1, 2018 speech in Moscow; US, Russian and Chinese programs since, debated in arms-control circles.
How sure are we?
Official statements by Russia, China and the US, plus Congressional Research Service and think-tank studies; the effect on deterrence is analysis, not proven fact.
Debates and open questions
Many experts argue ordinary ICBMs can already overwhelm missile defenses, so hypersonics change little; others see real new risks of miscalculation.