10 Top Secret Weapons You've Never Heard Of
9. Advanced Hypersonic Weapons
Within the programme known as PGS (Prompt Global Strike), the development of the advanced hypersonic weapon is groundbreaking stuff. That's the programme dedicated to precision delivery of a payload via an airstrike anywhere in the world, within a single hour.
The idea is that eventually they'll achieve a speed of up to Mach 24, heading in on a flat, low trajectory to prevent the enemy mistaking the missile for a nuclear assault. A properly designed and executed PGS would allow its operators to respond to rapidly changing circumstances worldwide, without the need to mobilise conventional forces.
Of course, another application would be the capability to use the advanced hypersonic weapon during a nuclear conflagration. The first AHW in the US PGS initiative (these things sound like pro wrestling promotions) was successfully tested in November 2011, launching from a facility in Hawaii to the test site 2,300 miles away in less than half an hour
To give you an idea, the current fastest cruise missile on earth is the Russian/Indian BrahMos, able to fly at speeds up to and around Mach 3 and considered to be a supersonic weapon. The hypersonic delivery system being tested, on the other hand, would have a minimum speed twice as fast as that.