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Adm. Michael Gilday, the Chief of Naval Operations, on Thursday said developing systems which would use high energy lasers or high power microwaves to destroy a threat is a top priority for the Navy.
“From a defensive standpoint, we’re focused on the threat,” Gilday said Thursday during an event at the Heritage Foundation. “We’re not ignoring it.”
Hypersonic missiles, which travel at five times the speed of sound or faster, pose a unique challenge to US defensive systems. They fly far faster than traditional missiles, and they don’t fly like ballistic missiles on predictable trajectories, making them much more difficult to detect and intercept.
Gilday noted the advances adversaries like Russia and China have made in hypersonic weapons. “They’re a significant concern,” Gilday said. “Russia and China are both developing those capabilities and will be fielding those capabilities shortly.”
Russia has used its hypersonic Kinzhal missile in the war in Ukraine, while China tested a…
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