Russia is widely considered to possess the fastest operational hypersonic weapon with its Avangard Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV), capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 27 (over 20,000 mph), though exact figures are classified and estimates vary, followed closely by China with its DF-17/DF-21D hypersonic missiles, which can fly at speeds exceeding Mach 5. Russia also fields the Zircon cruise missile and Kinzhal air-launched missile, while China is a leader in development, with the US playing catch-up.
China has the world's most powerful arsenal of hypersonics. In late 2024, China unveiled its latest hypersonic glide vehicle, the GDF-600. With a 1,200kg payload, it can carry sub-munitions and reach speeds of Mach 7 (5,370mph).
The Oreshnik moves faster than most modern missiles, at an estimated 8,000 mph (13,000 kph). Its trajectory takes it steeply upwards, out of the atmosphere, and then brings it back down again sharply, with its warheads aimed at separate targets.
This is apparently a reference to capabilities that Russian missiles have but U.S. missiles do not—supersonic and hypersonic speed, very long range, dual capability, and, in many cases, antiship capability (until recently when the United States began to introduce longer-range antiship missiles).
The U.S. Just Shot Down a Hypersonic Missile in a Show of Force. The U.S. Armed Forces are continuing to develop technologies for countering adversaries' hypersonic missiles.
'From Agni to Avangard': 7 countries with the best missile technology in the world
In March 2022, American president Joe Biden confirmed that Russia used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine. "It's almost impossible to stop it," he said: "There's a reason they're using it."
Such missiles can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, and have the ability to strike moving targets precisely, such as aircraft carriers. This article surveys the various kinds of maneuvering hypersonic missiles and the leading countries developing them.
Chinese Commercial Hypersonic Jet Achieves 5,000 mph in Test Flight. In a groundbreaking development for aviation, Chinese scientists successfully tested a hypersonic rocket jet capable of reaching speeds over 5,000 mph (Mach 6.56).
Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon System
The U.S. Army's LRHW is designed to achieve a range exceeding 1,725 miles and provide a strategic strike capability against Anti-Access/Area Denial defenses and high-value targets. It consists of the C-HGB paired with the Navy's 34.5-inch booster.
Top 5 Land Attack Cruise Missiles : Tomahawk (USA) | Kalibr (Russia) | Brahmos (India) | SOM (Turkey) | DF-10 (China)
RS-28 Sarmat (Satan II)
New START limits all Russian deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons, including every Russian nuclear warhead that is loaded onto an intercontinental-range ballistic missile that can reach the United States in approximately 30 minutes.
The S-500 is designed for intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles, as well as hypersonic cruise missiles and aircraft.
High-power lasers can be used to disable a hypersonic weapon through a direct hit, by heating and disrupting the high-speed airflows (boundary layers) around the vehicle, as well as by blinding (or 'dazzling') sensors used to navigate towards its target.
An intermediate-range ballistic missile — dubbed "Oreshnik" — used by Russia in an overnight strike on Ukraine is, according to the Kremlin, a "state-of-the art" weapon that cannot be intercepted.
Hypersonic missiles pose a new kind of threat, requiring new kinds of defenses. One such defense is a satellite swarm that targets the hypersonics where they are most vulnerable—at the edge of space.
Hypersonic missile technology is such a technology. Hypersonic weapons are classified as weapons that can travel five times as fast as the speed of sound or faster. There are 11 countries developing hypersonic missiles and of those 11, China has been the most aggressive with its development.
In the event that China makes an amphibious landing on Taiwan, which experts expect will take place by 2027, China's suite of hypersonic missiles “can take out our 10 aircraft carriers in the first 20 minutes of a conflict,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a November interview that has recently ...
The United States currently has the most powerful military in the world, as per global rankings for 2025. This ranking is based on multiple factors including defense budget, technology, manpower, and global reach. Key features include: Largest defense budget globally.
Russia and the United States together possess nearly 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, with Russia holding the largest total stockpile and the U.S. having a substantial number of deployed strategic warheads, making them the dominant nuclear powers by far, despite other nations like China, the UK, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea also having nuclear arsenals.
Nuclear weapons are still here—and they're still an existential risk. Nuclear weapons are still here—and they're still an existential risk. Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea.