Michael White

OSD Writes Hypersonic Flight Test Guidelines

“I don’t want to get into any specifics,” Mike White told me, “but some of the challenges we’ve had so far getting to flight have been, in certain instances, avoidable."

DoD Needs To Sharpen Hypersonics Oversight: GAO

GAO notes that efforts to defend against Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles are much less mature than offensive efforts, with much less funding. Only 12 of 70 projects tracked by GAO related to defenses; DoD requested $207 million in 2021 for hypersonic defense, up from $157 million in 2020.

Hypersonics: ARRW’s Booster Tests This Week – Carefully

As the services rush to field hypersonics, OSD’s top expert warns, they must not repeat sloppy mistakes that have marred past tests – and hypersonic cruise missiles may have more tactical value than easier-to-build boost-glide weapons.

Hypersonic Debates Shaped By Politics: Aerospace

"In some ways, it's too early to say 'game changer,' or 'nothing.' And I would say, just to put it starkly, each of those positions is probably likely to be untrue or inaccurate," CSBA's Tom Mahnken says.

Pentagon Hypersonics Director Rebuts Critics, Step By Step

Defense experts and the Pentagon’s hypersonics R&D director told us the Union of Concerned Scientists study, which argues hypersonic weapons offer marginal improvements over existing weapons at an outsized cost, got something wrong at every step.

EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon’s Hypersonics Director Rebuts The Critics

Independent experts and the Pentagon’s hypersonics R&D director tell us a study of hypersonics by the Union of Concerned Scientists overlooks the very real advantages the new weapons offer the US – and its adversaries.

Hypersonics Won’t Repeat Mistakes Of F-35

Let a hundred hypersonic flowers bloom, Pentagon officials say, instead of a single cumbersome mega-program.