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American hypersonic weapon test successful

The US has test-fired a new weapon which can travel at five times the speed of sound, the Pentagon says.



It says the missile was launched from Hawaii and reached its target on a Pacific atoll 2,300 miles (3,700km) away in less than half an hour.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon is part of a programme to built a new type of high-precision conventional weapons.

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Its aim is to allow the US military to strike targets anywhere in the world within an hour.

Hypersonic test aircraft 'lost'

A statement from the Pentagon said the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon had glided through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific at hypersonic speeds before hitting its target on Kwajalein atoll.

The term hypersonic is defined as exceeding Mach 5 - five times the speed of sound, or 6,000km/h (3,700 mph).

Earlier this year a congressional report said the programme was part of a project to develop a "prompt global strike" - a system that can deliver long-range weapons anywhere in the world while avoiding flying over third-party nations.

The Pentagon did not say what the top speed reached by the missile was

Best form of defence is attack

there are better weapons

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Waste of money