Explained: Design Challenges of Hypersonic Missiles

Although warfare is a scene of destruction, pain, and chaos, wars are often the seedbed for new technologies and designs, and this is especially true of the modern era. In Ukraine, the battlefield is as much of a battle of the newest drone designs and unconventional strategies as it is of soldiers and bullets. One of the technologies at the forefront of the modern and future battlefield are hypersonic munitions.

Figure 1: An illustration of different missile trajectories [1]. Image edited and resolution improved by AI.

Blistering Speed

Hypersonic is the speed regime that is above Mach 5 (3800  mph, 6000 kph). Most flying machines stay within subsonic flow, but there are some that reach transonic and then supersonic flight. At hypersonic speeds, the air chemistry alters through molecular dissociation and can lead to immense heat and ionization [2]. Though they are extremely expensive, they are used to penetrate advanced air defense systems that have difficulty targeting and destroying munitions that are traveling at such speeds. The most cutting edge air defense systems are primarily designed to engage missiles that are 5 to 20 times slower, which decreases air defense reaction time by approximately six times. Thus, the design of hypersonic missiles increases their probability of mission success, and some estimate that their use decreases the number of missiles needed to eliminate hardened or protected targets by 75% [3].

Figure 2: A hypersonic missile is launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on 26 March 2026 [4].

Missile Trajectory

The current discussion regarding hypersonic missiles, however, is not actually rooted in speed. Ballistic missiles have been reaching hypersonic speeds for decades, though this does not often occur for the duration of the weapon flight after re-entry into the atmosphere. As shown in Figure 1, ballistic missiles follow a parabolic trajectory, while hypersonic missiles have a boost stage and then a glide stage of sustained hypersonic velocity. For this reason, they are often known as hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) or hypersonic cruise missiles [5]. They are particularly dangerous because combined with their speed, they are also able to maneuver at a relatively low altitude of flight [1]. To accomplish this, these missiles are equipped with scramjets, a type of combustion engine [6].

Figure 3: A hypersonic glide vehicle is released from its booster rocket [7].

Designing For Hypersonic Flow

For all of the benefits of hypersonic missiles, flying at relatively low altitudes at intense speeds leads to dramatic increases in drag and therefore more exposure to heat. Ballistic missiles undergo the same issues, but for much shorter durations [7]. Some worry that the intense heat and possible plasma trailing of the missiles will make them actually easier to detect than most ballistic missiles [8]. Still, debate persists regarding how vulnerable we actually are [9].

Figure 4: A hypersonic glide vehicle in flight [10].

To address the problems of heat generation, scientists are exploring refractory materials that are incredibly resilient to extreme temperatures [11]. There is also the need to address the shockwaves that occur at hypersonic speeds, as they affect the air boundary layers and can increase drag and thus the maximum exposed temperature [12]. As with almost all military technologies, research and development of weapons also has civilian application. Mastering hypersonic travel could lead to future flight between New York and Los Angeles in as little as 45 minutes [13].

Designing machines that can fly faster than Mach 5 is quite the challenge, and the main challenge is heat. Developments in additive manufacturing and structural integration promises to open up this field to applications like air travel. For example, additive manufacturing can print complex internal cooling channels that reduce material usage and increase heat loss [14]. Heat-resistance technology is progressing away from thermally-resistant tiles, such as those on the Space Shuttle, to thermal protection integrated directly into the load-bearing structure [15]. Perhaps the focus may now be on their wartime use, but in the future, hypersonic technology could be the key to opening up space to mass exploration and expediting air travel and thus lead to greater resource access and prosperity.

References

[1] Sayler, Kelley M. Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45811.

[2] "From Subsonic to Hypersonic Flow: Navigating the Speed Regimes of Aviation." Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, 2023, https://www.spartan.edu/news/from-subsonic-to-hypersonic-flow-navigating-the-speed-regimes-of-aviation/.

[3] Nurkin, Tate, and Stephen Rodriguez. A Vision for US Hypersonic Weapons. Atlantic Council, 2019, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/a-vision-for-us-hypersonic-weapons/.

[4] "Army and Navy Continue Tests of Hypersonic Missile." U.S. Department of Defense, 26 Mar. 2026, https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4450358/army-and-navy-continue-tests-of-hypersonic-missile/.

[5] "Fact Sheet: Hypersonic Weapons." Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, 2024, https://armscontrolcenter.org/fact-sheet-hypersonic-weapons/.

[6] "Hypersonic Missiles." Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, 2024, https://www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/missile-basics/hypersonic-missiles/.

[7] Wright, David, and Cameron Tracy. "Hypersonic Weapons Are Mediocre: It’s Time to Stop Wasting Money on Them." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 11 Mar. 2024, https://thebulletin.org/2024/03/hypersonic-weapons-are-mediocre-its-time-to-stop-wasting-money-on-them/.

[8] Thränert, Oliver. "Hypersonic Weapons: Strategic Options and Implications." CSS Analysis in Security Policy, no. 285, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, 2022, https://css.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CSSAnalyse285-EN.pdf.

[9] "Hypersonic Weapons: Are We Entering a New Era of Vulnerability?" Global Security Review, 30 Mar. 2026, https://globalsecurityreview.com/hypersonic-weapons-are-we-entering-a-new-era-of-vulnerability/.

[10] "How Hypersonic Missiles Work and the Significant Threats They Pose." SciTechDaily, 2024, https://scitechdaily.com/how-hypersonic-missiles-work-and-the-significant-threats-they-pose/.

[11] Peters, Adam B., et al. "Materials Design for Hypersonics." Nature Communications, 2024. Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46753-3.

[12] "Hypersonic Aerodynamics." Office of Naval Research, U.S. Navy, 2024, https://www.onr.navy.mil/organization/departments/code-35/division-352/hypersonic-aerodynamics.

[13] "Innovation in the Skies: The Path to Hypersonic Flight." Air Force Civilian Careers, U.S. Air Force, 2024, https://afciviliancareers.com/innovations/.

[14] "How Metal 3D Printing Enables Complex Internal Cooling Channels." Eureka by Patsnap, 15 Dec. 2025, https://eureka.patsnap.com/article/how-metal-3d-printing-enables-complex-internal-cooling-channels.

[15] "How Design, Manufacturing, and Materials Innovation Are Driving Future Hypersonics." Parallax Advanced Research, 2024, https://parallaxresearch.org/news/blog/how-design-manufacturing-and-materials-innovation-are-driving-future-hypersonics.

To cite this article:
Conover, Dylan. “Explained: Design Challenges of Hypersonic Missiles.” The BYU Design Review, 27 April 2026, https://www.designreview.byu.edu/collections/explained-design-challenges-of-hypersonic-missiles.