U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says he is “concerned” about the schedule for the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system as there has been a schedule slip, though it remains within its overall baseline while there is not much more slack to give.

The Pentagon needs to develop and acquire more agile missile tracking sensors and defeat systems, with a specific focus on regional hypersonic threats and protecting the island of Guam, as adversaries—especially China—increase their offensive capabilities, a new policy statement says.

The U.S. Defense Department on Oct. 26 completed the first of two planned sounding rocket launches to test new technologies at hypersonic speed from NASA’s space launch facility in Wallops, Virginia.

In August, Lockheed Martin delivered its first flight software package for an updated national missile defense system, the Next Generation Interceptor. 

The U.S. Army has an aggressive schedule for developing and fielding future variants of its surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile as it prioritizes the longest-range variant.

The U.S. Army is testing its ability to fire guided munitions from small uncrewed aircraft systems, bringing its high-tech approach to a capability that has proven its effectiveness in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Several space launch providers have joined a team led by Dynetics that has been selected by the U.S. Defense Department to accelerate the pace of hypersonic vehicle testing. 

It is hoped the initiative will support a number of aerospace programs being pursued by India with support from British companies.