After months of delays and in the wake of similar tests conducted by Russia and China, the US Air Force has successfully completed a full test of its prototype hypersonic missile.

On Tuesday, a B-52 bomber departed from Guam and launched the missile, known as the air-launched rapid response weapon (ARRW), toward a missile testing site in the Marshall Islands.

While the US Air Force (USAF) has not provided detailed commentary on the mission, it is believed to represent the culmination of a years-long program aimed at advancing hypersonic technology.

Hypersonic missiles possess the capability to travel at speeds exceeding five times the speed of sound, approaching targets from lower angles, thereby making them more challenging to detect by enemy warning systems, the Telegraph reported.

The sluggish progress in the development of US hypersonic weapons has drawn criticism from Congress, particularly amidst concerns over the concurrent advancement of similar programs by Russia, China, and North Korea.

Written by B.C. Begley