2026年4月21日 美国东部时间12:48 / 福克斯新闻频道
美国导弹防御局于4月向诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司授予约4.75亿美元合同，以加速拦截弹项目
作者：摩根·菲利普斯 福克斯新闻
随着中俄在该领域稳步推进，一名防务专家剖析了阻碍美国高超音速武器发展的技术障碍与测试限制。
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多年来，美国一直在研发高超音速武器以与中俄竞争，但项目延误、计划反复调整以及有限的测试能力，引发了人们的担忧：在这项可能重塑现代战争格局的技术领域，美国仍处于追赶阶段。
关键项目多次遭遇延误，包括测试和开发时间表受挫，其他项目则被取消后又随着五角大楼重新评估其战略而重新启动。
与此同时，有限的测试基础设施制约了新系统的评估和改进速度，拖累了多项研发工作的推进进度。
这种多重因素叠加加剧了五角大楼内部的担忧，尤其是中俄已经部署了高超音速系统，可能让它们在这类武器领域占据优势——这类武器可以压缩危机中的决策时间，并对美国的防御体系构成挑战。
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2025年9月3日，在北京天安门广场举行的纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年阅兵式上，YJ-17反舰高超音速导弹亮相。（格雷格·贝克/法新社通过盖蒂图片社拍摄）
高超音速武器旨在以极高速度飞行，同时在飞行过程中进行机动，这使得它们比传统导弹更难被探测和拦截。
与遵循可预测轨迹的弹道导弹不同，高超音速武器可以在飞行中途改变方向，且飞行高度更低，从而缩短了预警时间，让现有的导弹防御系统更难追踪。
俄罗斯已经在对乌克兰的战争中使用了类高超音速武器，在某些情况下是为了向基辅及其西方盟友发出信号，突显了这项技术正开始影响现实冲突。
但在美国的武器库中，进展却参差不齐。部分项目正朝着部署迈进，其他项目则被取消后又重新启动，官员们也越来越多地在投资高超音速武器研发与防御此类武器之间寻求平衡。
部分挑战来自技术层面。高超音速系统在高速穿过大气层时，必须承受极端的高温和压力，这使得它们的设计和制造比传统导弹更加复杂。
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在某些情况下，五角大楼还追求更先进的设计方案，包括高机动性系统和精确常规打击能力，这进一步增加了研发难度。
另一个基本限制因素则让情况更加复杂：测试能力不足。
目前仅有少数设施能够模拟或维持高超音速环境，项目往往需要等待测试机会而延误进度，拖累了多项研发工作的推进速度。
马克·比格姆是专注于高超音速发射和测试技术的公司Longshot的防务项目副总裁，同时也是前雷神公司高管。他表示，这种限制已经成为关键瓶颈。
“人们可以快速创新并拿出设计方案，”比格姆说，“而筛选这些方案的唯一途径就是实际进行测试。”
他补充道，全球仅有少数几家设施能够开展高超音速系统测试，这使得加快研发步伐变得困难。
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“我认为目前测试可能是最大的瓶颈，”他说。
除了工程和测试方面的挑战，美国的高超音速研发工作还多年来一直受到优先事项反复调整的影响。
美国在2000年代曾引领高超音速早期研究，但后来国防开支转向反恐行动和其他能力建设，直到最近，高超音速武器的 funding 始终不稳定。
与此同时，严格的安全和可靠性要求会减缓从测试到部署的过渡速度，与那些更快部署不太成熟系统的竞争对手相比，美国的开发周期被拉长。
高超音速导弹（埃斯特/盖蒂图片社）
五角大楼最先进的项目是陆军的“暗鹰”远程高超音速武器。该项目近期取得了进展，包括3月份成功进行的陆军-海军联合测试，并继续为其首个作战单位进行部署。
该项目是更广泛的研发 streamlined 举措的一部分，其中包括陆军和海军系统共享滑翔体的计划。
即便如此，整个高超音速武器项目组合仍处于不断变化之中。
美国空军曾因测试受挫而搁置其“空射快速响应武器”（ARRW）项目，如今又重新启动该项目，并在2026财年申请了约3.87亿美元资金以启动采购。
这一举措反映了五角大楼内部的重新评估，官员们如今认为需要针对不同任务部署多种类型的高超音速武器。
与此同时，美国也在加大投资以应对高超音速威胁。
4月，美国导弹防御局向诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司追加授予约4.75亿美元合同，以加速“滑翔阶段拦截弹”的研发，该拦截弹旨在在飞行途中摧毁高超音速武器。
这笔资金推动了该项目的进度，在经历此前的延误后，初步作战能力预计将于2030年代初实现。
这项工作是更广泛的高超音速威胁防御建设努力的一部分，其中包括一个天基跟踪网络，用于探测和追踪以极端速度飞行的导弹——这是当前雷达系统难以可靠完成的任务。
伊朗声称其“法塔赫”导弹是高超音速导弹，但该导弹的速度尚未得到独立验证。（莫尔塔扎·尼库巴扎勒/努尔照片社通过盖蒂图片社拍摄）
这种紧迫性源于中俄已经部署了高超音速武器，迫使美国既要加快自身研发进度，又要重新思考如何防御这一新的威胁类别。
“我的直觉告诉我，我们需要踩紧油门，加快速度，”比格姆说。
然而，尽管存在这种紧迫性，本届政府的最新预算却更侧重于导弹防御、无人机和其他能力，高超音速项目大多被纳入更广泛的研究和采购预算中。
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这种脱节——高超音速技术的战略重要性与美国研发进度之间的差距——引发了争论：美国能否快速大规模部署这些系统，以与竞争对手抗衡。
就目前而言，五角大楼的高超音速研发工作正在推进，但由于各项目处于不同阶段、项目重启以及持续存在的限制因素，全面部署这些武器的道路仍不明朗。
美国五角大楼未立即回应置评请求。
美国政府问责局的一份审查报告发现，空军的“高超音速攻击巡航导弹”项目在一个关键设计里程碑上落后约六个月，将飞行测试推迟了约一年，并减少了计划中的试飞次数。这一发现突显了影响美国高超音速研发的更广泛延误问题。
US falls behind in hypersonic race as China, Russia gain edge
April 21, 2026 12:48pm EDT / Fox News
The Missile Defense Agency awarded roughly $475M to Northrop Grumman in April to accelerate an interceptor program
By Morgan Phillips Fox News
As China and Russia move ahead, a defense expert breaks down the technical hurdles and testing constraints slowing U.S. hypersonic development.
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The U.S. has spent years racing to develop hypersonic weapons to compete with China and Russia, but delays, shifting programs and limited testing capacity are raising concerns that Washington remains in a catch-up phase in a technology that could reshape modern warfare.
Key programs have faced repeated delays, including setbacks in testing and development timelines, while others have been canceled and later revived as the Pentagon reassesses its approach.
At the same time, limited testing infrastructure has constrained how quickly new systems can be evaluated and refined, slowing the pace of development across multiple efforts.
That combination has heightened concern inside the Pentagon, particularly as China and Russia already have fielded hypersonic systems, potentially giving them an edge in a class of weapons that could compress decision-making timelines in a crisis and challenge U.S. defenses.
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YJ-17 anti-ship hypersonic missiles are seen during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square Sept. 3, 2025.(Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
Hypersonic weapons are designed to travel at extremely high speeds while maneuvering in flight, making them far harder to detect and intercept than traditional missiles.
Unlike ballistic missiles, which follow a predictable path, hypersonic weapons can change direction mid-flight and fly at lower altitudes, reducing warning time and making them more difficult for existing missile defenses to track.
Russia already has used hypersonic-type weapons in its war against Ukraine, in some cases as a signal to Kyiv and its Western allies, underscoring how the technology is beginning to shape real-world conflict.
Inside the U.S. portfolio, however, progress has been uneven. Some programs are advancing toward deployment, others have been canceled and revived, and officials are increasingly balancing investments between building hypersonic weapons and defending against them.
Part of the challenge is technical. Hypersonic systems must survive extreme heat and pressure while traveling at high speeds through the atmosphere—making them more complex to design and build than traditional missiles.
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In some cases, the Pentagon also has pursued more advanced approaches, including highly maneuverable systems and precision conventional strike capabilities, adding further complexity.
Complicating that effort further is a basic constraint: testing capacity.
With only a limited number of facilities able to simulate or sustain hypersonic speeds, programs often face delays waiting for test opportunities, slowing development across multiple efforts.
Mark Bigham, vice president of defense programs at Longshot, a company that works on hypersonic launch and testing technologies, and a former Raytheon executive, said that constraint has become a key limiting factor.
“People can innovate and create really fast,” Bigham said. “And the only way you can sort them out is to actually test them.”
He added that only a handful of facilities can test systems at hypersonic speeds, making it difficult to increase the pace of development.
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“I would say the testing is probably the bottleneck right now,” he said.
Beyond engineering and testing challenges, the U.S. effort has also been shaped by years of shifting priorities.
After leading early hypersonic research in the 2000s, defense spending shifted toward counterterrorism operations and other capabilities, while funding for high-speed weapons remained inconsistent until more recently.
At the same time, strict safety and reliability requirements can slow the transition from testing to deployment, extending timelines compared to adversaries that may field less mature systems more quickly.
Hypersonic missile(Estt/Getty Images)
The Pentagon’s most advanced effort, the Army’s long-range hypersonic weapon — known as “Dark Eagle” — has made recent progress, including a successful joint Army–Navy test in March and continued fielding of its first operational unit.
That program is part of a broader push to streamline development, including the use of a shared glide body across Army and Navy systems.
Even so, the broader hypersonic portfolio remains in flux.
The Air Force has revived its air-launched rapid response weapon, or ARRW, after shelving the program following test setbacks, requesting roughly $387 million in fiscal 2026 to begin procurement.
The move reflects a reassessment inside the Pentagon, where officials now see a need for multiple types of hypersonic weapons for different missions.
At the same time, the U.S. increasingly is investing in ways to counter hypersonic threats.
In April, the Missile Defense Agency awarded roughly $475 million in additional funding to Northrop Grumman to accelerate development of the Glide Phase Interceptor, designed to destroy hypersonic weapons mid-flight.
The funding has pushed the program’s timeline forward, with initial operational capability now expected in the early 2030s after earlier delays.
The effort is part of a broader push to build defenses against hypersonic threats, including a space-based tracking network designed to detect and follow missiles traveling at extreme speeds—something current radar systems struggle to do reliably.
Iran claims its Fattah missile is a hypertonic missile, but its speeds have not been independently verified.(Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The urgency stems from the fact that China and Russia already have fielded hypersonic weapons, forcing the U.S. to both accelerate its own development and rethink how it defends against a new class of threats.
“My gut tells me that we need to step on the gas and move faster,” Bigham said.
Yet despite that urgency, the administration’s latest budget places greater emphasis on missile defense, drones and other capabilities, with hypersonic programs largely embedded within broader research and procurement accounts.
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That disconnect — between the strategic importance of hypersonics and the pace of U.S. development — has fueled debate over whether the U.S. can scale these systems quickly enough to compete with its adversaries.
For now, the Pentagon’s hypersonic effort is moving forward — but with programs at different stages, revived initiatives and persistent constraints, the path to fully fielding these weapons remains uncertain.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Government Accountability Office review found the Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile program fell about six months behind schedule on a key design milestone, pushing flight testing back by roughly a year and reducing the number of planned test flights. The findings highlight broader delays affecting U.S. hypersonic development.