NATO researcher proposes 20-year timeline for hypersonic weapon fielding, advocating for Western collaboration on research.

NATO researcher Kerstin Huber suggests that hypersonic weapons could take another 20 years to field, and that Western nations should collaborate on the research. Hypersonic missiles, flying at speeds five times faster than the speed of sound, face challenges due to extreme heat during flight. Governments have been tight-lipped about this technology due to its potential advantages and risks of an arms race.