Russia and China are leading in hypersonic innovation. Here’s what’s holding the U.S. back

In the fabric of human achievement, speed has always been a defining thread. From the first locomotives to the dawn of aviation, our quest to travel faster has consistently reshaped society. Today, we stand on the cusp of a new era in transportation. High-speed flight represents the next frontier. With the ability to travel commercially at speeds near or above Mach 5, we stand on the brink of revolutionizing global mobility, shrinking the vast distances that separate us.

However, that is only part of the story. The ability to fly faster and higher has always been the next military high ground. As China and Russia lead the way in using advanced hypersonics for weapons development, the U.S. must leverage our full engine of innovation to catch up and leap ahead by reducing barriers to test new tech.

Why hypersonic matters

Reusable human-rated hypersonic flight is not new.  In the 1960s, the X-15 completed over 120 flights above Mach 5 at altitudes surpassing those of typical commercial aircraft. From the 1980s through 2011, the Space Shuttle flew over a hundred missions that included a 30-minute flight time at Mach 25 upon reentry, landing in Florida after crossing half the world.  However, the fundamental technologies enabling new engines are now poised to take these once government-only reusable hypersonic vehicles into commercial applications.

Just imagine a world where the journey from Los Angeles to Tokyo takes less than two hours. This isn't merely about speed–it's about the unprecedented connectivity that hypersonic travel offers. It would revolutionize global connectivity. Shrinking travel times would ignite unprecedented global trade, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Hypersonic vehicles could deliver life-saving aid or critical supplies within hours, saving countless lives in critical moments. And with advanced engines doing all of this with lower emissions per mile traveled.

An urgent national security need

While reusable hypersonic flight was first proven in the 1960s, both Russia and China have advanced hypersonic flight to the next level by developing weapons that not only fly fast but also at low altitudes to maneuver around defenses and reach their target with significant speed. Russia has used them multiple times in combat with Ukraine.

China is in the process of developing a high-hypersonic weapons system that can circle most of the globe before striking. In 2021, U.S. military officials described China’s test of this system as being “very close” to a “Sputnik moment”. It became a rather uncomfortable wake-up call showcasing the nation’s need to prioritize hypersonics. Since then, China has continued to advance its science and technology and is now home to the world’s most powerful hypersonic wind tunnel, the JF-22, which can simulate the conditions in which a spacecraft re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere. This past summer, China tested a new type of air-launched spaceplane design in this tunnel that has been designed for commercial, reconnaissance and military use.

Despite China and Russia leading in using advanced hypersonics, it is worth noting that the U.S. government is developing hypersonics programs. Last year, the Pentagon requested $4.7 billion for hypersonic research in the FY2023 budget and has been developing various potential hypersonic weapons options like the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. However, the DOD has said it does not expect to field a hypersonic defense system until at least 2034.

While there is an enormous commercial market opportunity in commercial reusable hypersonics, the military advantage in flying faster has always been decisive. Flying reusable, cost-effective, and scalable? Game-changing.

What’s stopping us?

Unfortunately, the current regulatory landscape is simply not ready for testing hypersonic aircraft. More accurately, the pace of testing the U.S. achieved in the 1950s and 1960s is now stymied by red tape and bureaucracy. America's regulatory processes are sluggish. Unless reformed, they will slow down development and discourage private sector participation in developing vital future technologies in the United States. One of the U.S.’s greatest advantages is our venture capital (VC) ecosystem. However, such a system relies on fast feedback loops to allow trial and error–at a company level to test technologies, and at an industry level to back the winners and shut down the losers. In the nine to 18 months it takes to measure the CO2 impact and wildlife disturbance of a single test vehicle, many multiple flights could have been tested, tried, failed, and adjusted. Meanwhile, at a single airport in the U.S. in one day, more CO2 would have been released due to taxiing and more birds would have been scared off to prevent them from interfering with takeoff and landing.

The U.S. must step up. It is not enough to list hypersonics as a top priority in a PowerPoint presentation or on a website. Those goals must be matched by the necessary means at test ranges across America. Our competition is Chinese and Russian companies/militaries, who can, let’s face it, do anything they must to achieve the results expected by their governments. While I’m not for a moment suggesting the U.S. follow that model, I do believe the U.S. government must understand our competitors’ lack of regulatory–or other–impediments and adopt policies that fit the urgency of the moment.

Nothing is more crucial to unleashing the full potential of this advanced technology than modernizing the lead-footed regulation and cutting the red tape that threatens to stifle innovation.

Charting a collaborative course

It will take government initiatives, experienced defense companies, and private entrepreneurship to innovate around the challenges of hypersonics.

We need a regulatory environment that mirrors the agility of the startups it seeks to govern. Collaborative avenues have worked for other industries in the past, so let’s adopt that approach in forms such as:

• Dedicated testing corridors: Establishing designated flight zones specifically for hypersonic experimentation would significantly facilitate testing and development, with pre-approved environmental umbrellas.

• Joint research and development: Collaborative programs leveraging the expertise of both private and public sectors would accelerate progress exponentially.

• Leverage dual use: As innovators set their sights on commercial applications, leveraging for a military variant is a proven recipe for innovation.

Such measures would not only accelerate the advent of commercial hypersonic flight but also invigorate the aerospace sector more broadly with fresh investment and innovation.

The hypersonic era beckons. American innovators and aerospace pioneers are demonstrating that the technology is ready. We must respond with a concerted national effort to focus on hypersonic technology and its immense potential, without handing the advantage to Russia and China.

What will it take? Private investment. Public partnership. Regulatory enablement. And with that, we’ll gain the opportunity to propel America into an era of new frontiers with unprecedented possibilities for all.

Sassie Duggleby is the co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace, based in Houston, TX.

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