SOUTH Korea test-fired its first homegrown hypersonic missile last week, days after the North announced the artificial intelligence-assisted launch of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
Hypersonics are defined as being able to travel at velocities of at least five times the speed of sound — Mach 5, or more than 6,100 kilometres per hour.
By cutting flight times, they also reduce the opportunity to respond.
They can be capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, depending on the design, and have the potential to alter the strategic balance.
