US Air Force B-52 bomber test-fires hypersonic missile from Guam base

The US Air Force successfully tested its prototype hypersonic missile, the air-launched rapid response weapon (ARRW), from a B-52 bomber, while North Korea claimed to have tested its own hypersonic weapon. Hypersonic missiles can travel at more than five times the speed of sound and approach targets from a low angle, making them difficult to detect. The slow progress of the US's hypersonic missile program has been criticized by Congress, with concerns about the development of similar programs by Russia, China, and North Korea.