Griffin will focus US to regain lead in hypersonic weapons and fix procurement

Michael Griffin spoke at the McAleese/Credit Suisse summit and said he wants to have the USA leading the world in hypersonic weapons. Griffin is altering the defense budget for more research and development of hypersonic weapons.

Michael Griffin is the Pentagon’s new undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and used to be the Director of NASA.

The Chinese have conducted 20 percent more hypersonic missile technology tests than the United States in recent years. Just last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted that his country had developed a hypersonic cruise missile, which he claimed is now undergoing trials. The announcement increased fears in Washington that the Americans had fallen behind. Speaking to reporters in January, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Paul Selva admitted “we have lost our technological advantage in hypersonics.”

That gap, Griffin claimed, creates instability. If the Chinese started throwing hypersonic missiles at American bases in the Pacific and sinking carrier strike groups, “our only response is to let them have their way or go nuclear. That should be an unacceptable situation for the United States — it invites bad behavior by adversaries.”

Griffin has indicated that the Pentagon technology and military equipment procurement is broken. Things take too long to develop and cost too much.