The U.S. military is taking the global arms race to new speeds, with the second test launching of an Advanced Hypersonic Weapon that has the ultimate aim of hitting targets anywhere on earth within an hour by traveling up to five times the speed of sound.
But the test, which took place Monday at the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, was cut short by an unspecified failure in the device, which exploded just seconds after taking off. “Due to an anomaly, the test was terminated near the launch pad shortly after lift-off to ensure public safety,” the Department of Defense announced in a press release. “There were no injuries to any personnel.”
The explosion follows a prior 2011 successful launch of the weapon, which was developed by Sandia National Laboratories, which is a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation and a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The hypersonic weapon development is overseen by the U.S. military as part of the Prompt Global Strike program, which was created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks to develop ultra-fast non-nuclear weapons. The program, which is subject to little public scrutiny, continues to receive resources from the Pentagon, which awarded a $44 million contract to the Alabama-based Miltec Corporation in June to develop an Advanced Hypersonic Weapon.
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