US hypersonic missile hit within 6 inches of target in March Test

A US hypersonic missile, traveling at 5 times the speed of sound, across thousands of miles hit a target within six inches accuracy, a top US official has revealed.

The information seem intended  to counter  Russian claims last  week that it test fired a hypersonic anti-ship missile, traveling at 8 times the speed of sound from a sea platform. Russian officials said the missile has "no equal." 

Speaking to a conference of the U.S. Association of the Army on Tuesday Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said “U.S. hypersonic missiles can strike within six inches of a target after traveling thousands of miles at Mach 5 or faster,” referring to a Mar. 19 test of the missile, which was fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

His comments came a week after Russia announced the successful test-firing of its Zircon hypersonic missile, striking a target 300 miles away after traveling at over 6,100 mph.

McCarthy offered information, not previously announced, from the Flight Experiment-2 test of the rocket-boosted Block 0Common Hypersonic Glide Body in March.

The test demonstrated that the weapon, which consists of a warhead, guidance system and thermal protection, can fly five times the speed of sound, maneuver in varying flight paths and azimuths to avoid detection before striking its target.

The announcement of the missile's accuracy suggests that the long-range weapon can travel within the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, but the level of precision indicates that it was not tested with a warhead designed to produce a large area of damage or destruction, experts said.