{"id":82659,"date":"2020-08-19T20:55:13","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T20:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/19\/the-air-force-might-be-eyeing-a-hypersonic-nuclear-weapon\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:22:51","slug":"the-air-force-might-be-eyeing-a-hypersonic-nuclear-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/08\/19\/the-air-force-might-be-eyeing-a-hypersonic-nuclear-weapon\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force may have accidentally revealed interest in hypersonic nuke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Air Force has issued, and quietly revoked, a solicitation to industry seeking technologies that would support a hypersonic glide vehicle<\/a> capable of traversing intercontinental ranges, potentially signaling the military\u2019s interest in a hypersonic nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an Aug. 12 request for information first reported by Aviation Week<\/a>, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center sought ideas for potential upgrades to intercontinental ballistic missiles, including a \u201cthermal protection system that can support [a] hypersonic glide to ICBM ranges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The items listed as potential ICBM upgrades were all marked \u201cunclassified\/for official use only,\u201d which notes information that \u2014 while not secret \u2014 is not normally released to the public. The RFI was then withdrawn after Aviation Week began inquiring about it, the report noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about the RFI on Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, the Air Force\u2019s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, said the service\u2019s next-generation ICBMs \u2014 known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent \u2014 will not be available as a hypersonic variant when it is fielded in the late 2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\t