Hypersonic missiles have an advantage in terms of speed compared to supersonic missiles. Hypersonic missiles began to be widely developed because they technically could not be blocked by air defense systems, compared to supersonic missiles or subsonic missiles.
Hypersonic missiles are capable of traveling at Mach 5 or five times faster than the speed of sound. Technically the speed limit of hypersonic missiles is around 3,836 miles per hour or 6,174 km per hour.
Hypersonic missiles are capable of traveling faster than supersonic missiles, which generally reach speeds of more than Mach 1 but not up to Mach 3. The maximum speed that supersonic missiles can achieve is about 2,300 miles per hour or 3,701 km per hour.
The most famous supersonic missile is the BrahMos which is made in India/Russia. This missile is capable of traveling at a speed of 2,100-2,300 miles per hour. Hypersonic missiles are capable of traveling at extreme speeds, exceeding Mach-5 because they use a jet engine as propulsion.
However, there are many technical obstacles that must be overcome, especially with regard to the missile's combustion system in order to remain stable at extreme temperatures when traveling at hypersonic speeds.
Many world powers such as the United States (US), Russia, India, and China, are developing hypersonic missiles. Like Russia, which successfully developed the Zircon or 3M22 Tsirkon hypersonic missile and its testing was carried out on June 3, 2017.
Not wanting to be left behind, China is currently also known to be developing a hypersonic nuclear missile engine capable of cruising at a speed of 6,000 miles per hour.
The hypersonic missile engine is taken from the Boeing Manta X-47C, an experimental Two-Stage Vehicle (TSV) powered by two engines designed by Ming Han Tang, a Chinese-American who served as NASA's Chief Hypersonic Engineer in the late 1990s.
The US is also developing a number of hypersonic missiles, one of which is the AGM-183A (Air-sent off Rapid Response Weapon/ARRW).
However, the test of the AGM-183A hypersonic missile was still a failure. Quoted from The Warzone page, the hypersonic missile failed to escape from the B-52H bomber due to an unknown error.
