UK Hypersonic weapon: The UK is working on a very fast new missile technology called a hypersonic weapon. The British Ministry of Defence says it wants to show a working test version of this weapon before the year 2030. This update came in a written reply in Parliament.
The question was asked by Conservative MP James Cartlidge. Defence Minister Luke Pollard answered and explained that the government has started a special programme to speed up the development of hypersonic weapons.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, stated the government wants to move faster than normal military buying systems. He explained that new methods are being used so the project can progress quickly. He said the plan is to use help from both companies and universities across the country.
“Through innovative procurement practices and rapid commercial mechanisms that harness the breadth of the UK’s industrial and academic supply chain, the Ministry of Defence’s Hypersonics programme intends to deliver a weapon demonstrator by 2030,” he said.
“With a mandate to ‘do differently’, the programme deviates from traditional procurement sequencing and adopts early technology maturation, prototyping and system testing,” Pollard added.
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At the moment the project is still at a very early planning stage. It is currently in what the government calls the Strategic Outline Case phase. Because of this the final cost of the full weapon system and the exact date when it will enter service are still not confirmed.
New Contracts and Industry Support
The hypersonic programme already has several contracts supporting it. The UK Ministry of Defence has given a £12 million ($14.4 million/€14.76 million) contract to Amentum UK, an engineering company based in Warrington. This contract is meant to help improve Britain’s own hypersonic missile technology.
Two other companies, Ebeni and Synthetik, are also helping in this work. Their job is to help design systems that can survive extreme speeds and very high temperatures. Hypersonic missiles travel faster than five times the speed of sound. Because of this they face intense heat and pressure.
The companies will work on designs first. After that the technology will move into flight testing. If the tests work well the designs may later become prototype missiles.
“In this new era of threat, we need a new era for defence. This means moving quicker to develop and buy the cutting-edge technologies our Armed Forces need for modern warfighting,” he said.
Since July 2024 the hypersonic programme has already given 22 contracts to 124 suppliers. The total value of these deals is about £48 million ($57.6 million/€59.04 million). More than 50% of these suppliers are small and medium businesses. The government hopes this will help smaller companies join the defence industry.
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The partnership between Amentum, Ebeni and Synthetik also includes something called reverse mentoring. This idea helps smaller companies share knowledge and work closely with larger defence partners.
Cost of the Project
A recent NATO exercise in 2025 showed some weaknesses. During the exercise British Army forces reportedly lost badly against Ukrainian drone teams. Reports said the British side did not have strong counter-drone systems during the training event. This may have played a big role in the outcome.
Hypersonic weapons are also extremely expensive. For example the United States Long Range Hypersonic Weapon could cost more than $40 million (£29.44 million/€33.78 million) for a single missile. The research and development alone can cost hundreds of millions. Even after spending that money success is not always guaranteed.
Military Needs
Another issue is something military planners call magazine depth. A hypersonic missile travels very fast but it does not automatically cause more damage than other missiles. If it carries a warhead similar to many cruise missiles it may weigh around 400 kg. That means several missiles might still be needed to destroy large targets.
One missile might sink a ship or destroy a submarine at a port. But larger targets could require multiple strikes. Hypersonic designs are also tight in space so fitting large warheads can be difficult.
There is also the question of how these weapons will actually be used. The UK does not currently have many platforms that can launch long range missiles. The Royal Air Force mainly relies on the Typhoon fighter jet for such missions. These aircraft already carry Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
In the future the Royal Navy may take on more long range strike roles. However the number of available warships is quite small. The British Army could also launch missiles from land but it faces limits in funding and size.
