U.S. Hails Success Of Hypersonic Weapons Testing

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army says it has successfully tested a hypersonic weapon delivery system that could reach any target in the world in just a couple of hours.

The long-range weapon system blasted off from the Pentagon's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, early Thursday and reached its destination approximately 2,500 miles away at Kwajalein Atoll in less than a half-hour, ABC News reported.

The Army would not discuss exactly how fast the weapon can go, but describes it as a hypersonic weapon, which generally means five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5, ABC News said.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon is intended as a "prompt global strike" weapons that would allow the United States to strike targets anywhere in the world, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.

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 BBC reported.