Hypersonic Weapons and International Law

Hypersonic weapons are becoming an increasingly prioritized capability among technologically advanced states.  With their high speeds and manoeuvrability hypersonic technologies challenge the status quo with potentially destabilizing effects. China, Russia and the U.S. are leading development, but North Korea, South Korea and Japan also have active hypersonic programs. Russia has already used hypersonic missiles on the battlefield in Ukraine.

This CMS Background Paper provides a brief but comprehensive overview of hypersonic weapons, with a particular emphasis on their strategic implications, their compatibility with international law, and potential methods for limiting their development, deployment, and use. The Background Paper is authored by Professor Kevin Jon Heller.

Download the Background Paper here.

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