Summary and Key Points: The U.S. is lagging behind China and Russia in developing hypersonic weapons, which are advanced systems capable of evading most current defenses due to their high speed and maneuverability. Despite having the lead time and resources, the U.S. did not prioritize these technologies, allowing its rivals to gain a strategic advantage.

-Russia has deployed hypersonic weapons operationally, and China has made significant strides, including building the world's largest hypersonic wind tunnel and conducting successful tests.

-This technological gap poses a serious concern for U.S. defense policymakers, suggesting a need for focused investment similar to a "Manhattan Project" for hypersonic weapons.

The U.S. is finding out the hard way what happens when a country fails to innovate their way of war in a dynamic threat environment.

Hypersonic weapons are not new technologies. They’ve been with us since the Cold War. Over the last 10 years, however, there has been a surge in the development and production of these systems. Traveling at eye-popping speeds, these weapons are capable of maneuvering in unpredictable ways that make tracking and shooting them down very difficult.

Despite enjoying considerable lead time to develop such systems during America’s so-called unipolar moment,........

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