USA’s hypersonic weapons program suffered a setback as a booster rocket carrying a hypersonic weapon failed during the test. US was testing its hypersonic weapons just days after a similar test by China.

USA’s test The test was intended to validate aspects of one of the Pentagon’s hypersonic glide vehicles in development, two of the people said.

Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched from a rocket in the upper atmosphere before gliding to a target at speeds of more than five times the speed of sound, or about 3,853 miles (6,200 kilometers) per hour.

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The United States and its global rivals have quickened their pace to build hypersonic weapons – the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms.

US President Joe Biden has already expressed concern over Chinese hypersonic missiles.

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Glide bodies are different from their air-breathing hypersonic weapon cousins which use scramjet engine technology and the vehicle’s high speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion to enable sustained flight at hypersonic speeds. An air-breathing hypersonic weapon was successfully tested in September.

Companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies are working to develop the hypersonic weapon capability for the United States.

(With inputs from agencies)