No More ‘Hacksaw’ Missiles: U.S. Air Force Abandons Major Hypersonic Weapons Program Despite Major Chinese and Russian Firepower Advantages

The U.S. Military’s ambitious Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, or HCSW (pronounced ‘hacksaw’) missile program has officially been terminated, as the armed forces face a growing gap in their missile capabilities with rival powers Russia and China. Lockheed Martin previously oversaw development under a contract estimated at $928 million, although growing budgetary constraints have since led the Air Force to seek to redivert funds to other programs - including a second and more promising hypersonic weapons program, the ARRW (Arrow). An Air Force budget document stated regarding the cancellation: “Funding decreased due to higher Department of Defence and Air Force priorities to fund only one of the two Air Force hypersonic prototyping efforts.”

The unveiling in March 2018 of a number of new Russian hypersonic weapons systems - including the Zircon hypersonic anti ship cruise missile and Kinzhal hypersonic tactical ballistic missile - led the U.S. to drastically increase funding for its own hypersonic weapons programs. The Kinzhal entered service in the Spring of 2018, and is set to be deployed from a growing number of launch platforms, while the Zircon entered service in December 2019 in the Russian Navy. China has deployed a number of its own hypersonic weapons systems including the recently unveiled DF-17 cruise missile, and is set to integrate hypersonic cruise missiles onto its Type 055 Class destroyers in the near future.