The pursuit by several nuclear-armed States of novel long-range strike options has received little attention in multilateral disarmament discussions despite their potentially negative implications for security, arms control and disarmament. In February 2019, in partnership with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, UNIDIR authored a new study, Hypersonic Weapons: A Challenge and Opportunity for Strategic Arms Control. The study explores the implications of hypersonic glide vehicles and considers possible ways to address them in a multilateral context. It includes overviews of the current state of technology; possible implications for international peace and security; possible implications for existing and future arms control and disarmament efforts; and different approaches States may pursue to address these challenges.
Citation: John Borrie, Amy Dowler and Pavel Podvig (2019) "Hypersonic Weapons: A Challenge and Opportunity for Strategic Arms Control”, UNODA and UNIDIR, New York. https://doi.org/10.37559/WMD/19/hypson1