China and Russia are driving the US to develop hypersonic weapons faster as the Pentagon seeks to increase the pace of testing and research and avoid falling behind, a senior Navy admiral responsible for US efforts said.“Up until just recently, there hasn’t been a real driver for us to take that technology and put it into a weapon system.Russia has deployed its own hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine, marking perhaps the first time such weapons have been used in war.When you’re looking at high-end technologies and you’re looking at how you really want to lean in and get something in the warfighter’s hands rapidly, we’ve got to accept the fact that to do that, we’re going to take risks.”The Army plans to field the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) next year, which would make it the first hypersonic system fielded by the military.Karako says the US backed away from research and development around hypersonic programs in past years."