The U.S. Navy has conducted a flight test of a conventional hypersonic missile from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The experiment highlighted the initial use of the service’s Conventional Prompt Strike, or CPS, capability, which employs a cold-gas launch approach for deployment in sea-based platform hypersonics, the Department of Defense said Friday.
Conventional Prompt Strike Capability
The approach supports the ejection of a missile from the platform to achieve a safe distance above the ship before the first-stage ignition, according to Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe Jr., director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs. He added that the technical milestone moves the project closer to the objective of “providing a safe and reliable hypersonic capability to our Navy.”
Navy Secretary John Phelan explained that CPS will provide unmatched capabilities to U.S. warfighters. “The speed, range and survivability of hypersonic weapons are key to integrated deterrence for America,” he stressed.
The CPS program is preparing for its initial fielding aboard the USS Zumwalt destroyer. Before completing the flight test, it conducted an extensive test campaign to validate the cold-gas launch approach. The effort will inform the development and production of the All Up Round program, a joint Army-Navy initiative to rapidly develop hypersonic strike capabilities to deter and defeat potential strategic competitors.
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