全球智库信息集成服务系统

New Class of Threat

• Hypersonic missiles are a new class of threat because they are capable both of maneuvering and of flying faster than 5,000 kilometers per hour, which would enable such missiles to penetrate most missile defenses and to further compress the timelines for response by a nation under attack.
• The proliferation of such missiles beyond the United States, Russia, and China could result in other powers compressing their response timelines in ways that set their strategic forces on hair-trigger states of readiness — such as a strategy of "launch on warning." And such proliferation could enable such states to more credibly threaten attacks on major powers.

Time Is Key

• There is probably less than a decade available to substantially hinder the potential proliferation of hypersonic missiles and associated technologies.
• There appears to be interest in hypersonic missile nonproliferation and at least a few years available for relevant governments to put a policy in place.

International Concern

• The unavoidable requirement is for the United States, Russia, and China to agree on a nonproliferation policy.
• France could play a key role in bringing other governments into agreement on a broader control policy.
• The technical and economic barriers to developing hypersonic technology are great enough to add to the effectiveness of a nonproliferation policy.