It's inevitable ...

It's inevitable ... aptly describes the endless pursuit of ever more powerful weapons by every nation on planet earth, a concept particularly apropos to hypersonic weapons, a tech that cannot be stopped, based on large part as to just how fast this hardware can go in delivering death, in minutes, to anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path.

Griffin was referring to a revolutionary new type of weapon, one that would have the unprecedented ability to maneuver and then to strike almost any target in the world within a matter of minutes. Capable of traveling at more than 15 times the speed of sound, hypersonic missiles arrive at their targets in a blinding, destructive flash, before any sonic booms or other meaningful warning. So far, there are no surefire defenses. Fast, effective, precise and unstoppable — these are rare but highly desired characteristics on the modern battlefield. And the missiles are being developed not only by the United States but also by China, Russia and other countries.

Cheap to deploy is an added bonus to defense contractors of almost any size

The enthusiasm has spread to military contractors, especially after the Pentagon awarded the largest one, Lockheed Martin, more than $1.4 billion in 2018 to build missile prototypes that can be launched by Air Force fighter jets and B-52 bombers. 

With a little bit of luck, these weapons might prove to be more successful than Lockheed's F 35, the jet that just can't cut in in ways that truly boggle the mind.

At extremely high altitudes, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ versions of the F-35 jet can only fly at supersonic speeds for short bursts of time before there is a risk of structural damage and loss of stealth capability, a problem that may make it impossible for the Navy’s F-35C to conduct supersonic intercepts.

The Defense Department does not intend to field a fix for the problem, which influences not only the F-35’s airframe and the low-observable coating that keeps it stealthy, but also the myriad antennas located on the back of the plane that are currently vulnerable to damage, according to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News.

This is understandable as the US no longer makes anything and lacks the infrastructure to train people on how to make things. Makes sense doesn't it?