US tests common hypersonic glide vehicle
The US Army and US Navy on 19 March successfully joint tested a hypersonic glide body during a trial carried out at the Pacific Missile Range in Kauai, Hawaii.
A Department of Defense (DoD) statement confirmed the launch of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), which reached Mach 5.
Vice Admiral Johnny R Wolfe, director of the USN’s Strategic Systems Programme, said: ‘This test builds on the success we had with Flight Experiment 1 in October 2017 in which our C-HGB achieved sustained hypersonic glide at our target distances.’
‘Today we validated our design and are now ready to move to the next phase towards fielding a hypersonic strike capability’ he continued.
Once fully developed, the C-HGB will be made up of a conventional weapon warhead, a guidance system, cabling and thermal protection shield.
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