In recent years, hypersonic weapons have become a new focus of military strategy and equipment development in many countries around the world. In the first half of this year, news about hypersonic missiles came one after another - in January, the Japanese Cabinet approved the 2025 fiscal year budget, planning to invest 297.6 billion yen in the research and development of hypersonic missiles and the construction of related production bases. In the same month, according to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea successfully test fired a new hypersonic medium to long range ballistic missile. In April, the UK announced a new breakthrough in hypersonic technology, bringing it one step closer to developing hypersonic missiles. In May, the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force revealed that it would apply for funding support for the AGM-183A hypersonic missile project in the 2026 fiscal year. In June, France showcased a scaled down model of a land-based intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile under development at the Paris Air Show. In the same month, Iran launched a retaliatory operation codenamed "True Promise 3", using self-developed hypersonic ballistic missiles, drones and other weapons to counterattack Israel. Looking at these developments, the development and application of hypersonic missiles seem to have been accelerated. So, why are hypersonic missiles gaining popularity again? What is its current development status? Where will the future go? Please refer to the interpretation in this issue. Highly favored by various countries, hypersonic missiles refer to missiles that are capable of sustained and controllable flight at more than 5 times the speed of sound in close space or the atmosphere, and can perform large-scale irregular maneuvers. Its characteristics are fast speed, long range, variable flight trajectory, and high success rate of breakthrough. Strictly speaking, hypersonic missiles can be mainly divided into two categories: hypersonic assisted gliding missiles and air breathing hypersonic cruise missiles. The former uses rocket boosters to accelerate the missile to hypersonic speed, and then performs unpowered gliding at the edge of the atmosphere or near space. This type of missile has high flight altitude, long range, and wide lateral maneuvering range, making it suitable for striking strategic depth targets. The latter uses a scramjet engine that continuously inhales air during flight, mixes it with fuel and burns it to generate strong thrust, enabling the missile to reach hypersonic speed. This type of missile has a slightly lower flight altitude, stronger low altitude breakthrough capability, good concealment and terminal maneuverability, and is suitable for striking time sensitive targets. In addition to the above two types, improving traditional ballistic missiles has become a shortcut to developing hypersonic missiles in order to quickly acquire hypersonic strike capabilities. Russia's "Dagger" and Iran's "Fatah" belong to this category. Due to the ability to quickly overcome opponents' air defense systems, countries are competing to develop hypersonic missiles. In the 1970s, the United States began researching hypersonic assisted gliding missiles. In the 21st century, the US Navy, Army, and Air Force have all launched research and development on hypersonic glide missiles. Among them, the Navy and Army have respectively developed "medium to long range conventional strike weapons" and "long-range hypersonic weapons" based on universal hypersonic glide bodies; The Air Force is developing an "air launched rapid response weapon" based on tactical assisted gliders. The hypersonic gliding missile developed by it has three technical characteristics: firstly, the range has shifted from emphasizing strategic strikes to emphasizing both strategic and tactical strikes; The second is the synchronous development of the double cone configuration and the lift body configuration gliding body; The third is to strive for multi platform deployment on the basis of the "trinity". Since 2013, the US military has started the development of hypersonic cruise missiles. It is mainly based on the concept of hypersonic air breathing weapons, aiming to enhance the ability to quickly and remotely strike time sensitive targets or key defense targets. The US Air Force launched the "Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile" project in 2021, and the US Navy launched the "Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti Ship Missile" project in 2023. The technical characteristics of the US military's hypersonic cruise missiles mainly include two aspects: firstly, relying on the achievements of the "hypersonic air breathing weapon concept", using air based platforms for launch, and possessing both ground attack and anti-ship strike capabilities; The second is to conduct research and development around dual-mode scramjet engines and zone combustion scramjet engines, continuously accumulating experience. Russia is one of the earliest countries in the world to produce and install hypersonic cruise missiles. In recent years, multiple types of missiles such as "Dagger," "Zircon," and "Hazel Tree" have been deployed in actual combat. The Dagger is an air launched improved version of the Iskander tactical ballistic missile, propelled by rocket engines and typically carried by MiG-31 fighters or Tu-22 bombers. It can strike moving targets at sea or solid targets on land. Zircon "is the first sea based hypersonic cruise missile developed by the Russian military. It is propelled by a scramjet engine and can be launched from platforms such as frigates, cruisers, and submarines to strike various surface vessels and ground targets. In November 2024, the Russian "Hazel Tree" new medium range hypersonic missile was put into actual combat. The Russian side stated that the "Hazel Tree" missile has met the conditions for mass production. The Russian "Vanguard" intercontinental missile consists of the body of the SS-19 intercontinental missile and a hypersonic variable trajectory gliding warhead, with a maximum range of over 10000 kilometers and a maximum speed of over 20 Mach, capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Other countries have also launched research and development of hypersonic missiles. France is developing the ASN4G hypersonic missile and preparing to equip it for the Rafale fighter jet. The UK and Australia are advancing the development of hypersonic missiles and reusable hypersonic aircraft. North Korea, Iran, India and other countries are also accelerating the development of hypersonic missiles. Multiple skills are available, and the only martial arts in the world are fast and unbreakable. ”Hypersonic missiles are known for their speed, and their main combat method is to strike some long-range targets quickly. A flight speed of over 5 Mach means that even at a distance of 1000 kilometers from the target, hypersonic missiles can reach it within 10 minutes. Traditional ballistic missiles require 15-20 minutes to fly the same distance, while subsonic cruise missiles require over 1 hour. In March 2022, the Russian military launched a "Dagger" hypersonic missile from the Crimean Peninsula, which destroyed a large underground missile and aviation ammunition depot located in strategic depth of the opponent in just 7 minutes. In addition to possessing unquestionable speed, hypersonic missiles also have many other skills to possess. Stealth breakthrough. Hypersonic missiles, with their advanced aerodynamic layout such as wave bodies, can generate strong lift during flight while reducing radar reflection area. Some of these missiles use absorbing materials to cover the missile body, which can effectively absorb the electromagnetic waves emitted by the detection radar and reduce the strength of the reflected signal. By cooling the engine exhaust and adopting infrared suppression technology, such missiles can effectively reduce their infrared radiation characteristics. In addition, some hypersonic missiles can fly in near space at a distance of 20-100 kilometers from the ground, which most air defense systems cannot reach, resulting in high penetration efficiency. Mobile orbit change. The trajectory of traditional ballistic missiles is approximately parabolic, and the anti missile system can predict the interception point in advance through trajectory calculation. Hypersonic missiles can perform lateral and longitudinal maneuvers during flight, especially the lateral "snake maneuver" which can achieve significant trajectory changes, making it difficult for the opponent's warning system to predict and lock in, greatly increasing the difficulty of interception by anti missile systems. When approaching the target, hypersonic missiles usually perform high-frequency small amplitude maneuvers or large angle dives to avoid interception by short-range air defense weapons. In December 2024, the Houthi armed group in Yemen launched the "Palestinian 2" hypersonic ballistic missile, which had the characteristic of maneuvering and changing trajectories. Integrated deterrence and warfare. The deterrent power of hypersonic missiles is mainly reflected in their ability to break through the existing air defense and anti missile systems of various countries. The threat they pose can be tactical or strategic. The extremely high flight speed significantly compresses the "window" for opponent warning and interception. The complex and varied flight trajectories make the existing anti missile system's radar tracking and interception calculations unable to cope, directly weakening the opponent's defense confidence. Hypersonic missiles equipped with conventional warheads can instantly strike high-value targets such as aircraft carriers, airports, and missile positions, forming regional deterrence. Hypersonic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads can break through the opponent's anti missile barrier and directly attack strategic depth critical targets such as command centers and nuclear bases, changing the strategic balance. In recent years, practical applications have also proven that hypersonic missiles have become one of the difficult weapons to defend on modern battlefields. Or multidimensional "evolution". Currently, new combat forces represented by hypersonic missiles are rapidly emerging, and the offensive and defensive activities surrounding hypersonic missiles are reshaping a new military struggle pattern. The competition among similar equipment and the upgrading of countermeasures have also accelerated the "evolution" of hypersonic missiles. The driving force continues to increase. Enhancing the power of hypersonic missiles is an inevitable trend. The development from traditional rocket power to scramjet engines, new pre cooled engines, detonation engines, magnetohydrodynamic engines, etc. reflects this trend. There is also a stationary oblique detonation engine, which not only has a simple structure, short combustion chamber length, but also high power density, and has great potential for development. In addition, hypersonic missiles need to fly with high performance in large airspace and wide speed range, and a single type of engine is often insufficient. Combination engines have high comprehensive performance and wide applicability, which is also a trend in future power development. Common combined propulsion systems include rocket based combined cycle power, turbine based combined cycle power, air turbine rocket combined engine, etc. With the continuous enhancement of power, hypersonic missiles can always maintain their "flash hammer" status. Improved intelligence and autonomy. Compared with traditional missiles, hypersonic missiles have larger flight envelope spans and more complex flight environments, which pose stricter requirements for guidance and control. In the future, hypersonic missiles will achieve intelligent flight control by developing artificial intelligence trajectory optimization algorithms, further enhancing their adaptability, anti-interference ability, and maneuverability. At the same time, artificial intelligence can assist hypersonic missiles in achieving mission planning and autonomous decision-making, autonomously changing flight trajectories and adjusting flight speeds based on predetermined targets and real-time environmental information, and improving breakthrough capabilities. Utilizing machine learning and big data technology to achieve precise guidance and improve strike accuracy is also the development direction of hypersonic missiles. At the same time, this technology can also be used for real-time monitoring of missile status, providing early warning and solutions for possible problems to reduce failure rates. In the future, information sharing and collaborative operations among multiple missiles will also rely on this intelligence and autonomy, including ensuring that missiles accurately hit targets under strong electromagnetic interference conditions. New materials and thermal protection technology are more advanced. In the future, with the continuous growth of hypersonic missiles, the question of how to cope with more severe thermal environments cannot be avoided. Traditional design methods are unable to meet the rapidly increasing thermal load requirements. On the one hand, it is necessary to develop new heat resistant materials that can withstand higher temperatures, have better oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance, such as ultra-high temperature ceramics, gradient composites, aerogel composites, etc., to ensure that the missile surface will not be ablated and the shape and structure will not be deformed when heated for a long time; On the other hand, it is necessary to optimize the structural design of thermal protection, so that active thermal protection structures can not only achieve efficient cooling, but also have lighter weight and more functions. The manufacturing and usage costs have been reduced. With the intensification of offensive and defensive confrontations around hypersonic missiles in the future, new concept countermeasures such as high-energy lasers and electromagnetic guns will emerge one after another. These countermeasures have low costs, and if hypersonic missiles are not modified, they will fall into the "cost-effectiveness trap". Therefore, it is necessary to find ways to reduce its research and development manufacturing