Can America Shoot Down Hypersonic Missiles?

Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of at least Mach 5, which is about 3,800 mph or nearly 1 mile per second. The science behind how hypersonic weapons work is fascinating, just like their capacity for destruction is terrifying — a hypersonic missile can cover the same distance that a traditional cruise missile takes nearly an hour to reach in just 10 minutes, leaving very little time for detection or interception. Would the U.S. military be able to shoot down a hypersonic missile if one were launched by an adversary? The answer: Maybe.

Russia, France, India, Iran, and North Korea are among the countries that have at least one hypersonic missile in their military arsenal, or have at least successfully developed one. China is the most advanced major power in this area. The United States, meanwhile, has yet to develop a fully operational hypersonic missile, though it is actively testing several prototypes. If the U.S. has fallen behind in terms of offensive capability, what are the implications for defense? 

Military analysts have long warned that the U.S. and its European allies lack defense systems to neutralize hypersonic weapons. Their concerns were at least partially alleviated on March 24, when the U.S. successfully tested its ability to respond to a hypersonic missile. Dubbed Stellar Banshee, Flight Test Other-40 (FTX-40) was carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. 

The test involved the USS Pinckney destroyer detecting, tracking, and simulating a missile launch against a hypersonic target, using the Sea Based Terminal (SBT) Increment 3 capability integrated into the newest version of the Aegis software. "Our ability to defeat maneuvering, hypersonic missiles is critical if we are to defend our homeland and our forces against an increasingly dangerous threat," MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said in a statement. Collins added that the Stellar Banshee test "demonstrated key achievements as we continue to partner with the Navy in advancing our Nation's counter-hypersonic capabilities."

Although encouraging, this test did not demonstrate that the U.S. could actually shoot down a hypersonic missile. Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-43 (FTM-43), a future planned test, may. As of May 2025, there is no publicly announced date for FTM-43, but hypersonic missiles could change warfare forever, regardless of whether the U.S. develops effective defenses against them.