The United States is not equipped to combat Chinese or Russian hypersonic weapons that have the capacity to overwhelm American missile-defense systems, according to a senior Pentagon official.

Michael Griffin, the under secretary of defense for research and engineering, said Tuesday the Pentagon has not deployed “adequate” defenses against the highly maneuverable and difficult-to-detect weapons being aggressively pursued by U.S. adversaries.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Griffin said the Defense Department will request more funding to develop lasers, high-powered microwaves, and other directed-energy weapons systems to counter hypersonic weapons and drone swarms. He said the United States hasn’t invested in such “transformative capabilities” since the Reagan administration in the 1980s.

“This is not a threat in the future,” Griffin said. “If the United States is going to remain ahead, we have to reinvest. A generation or two has gone by since that era and other people are not stupid and other people do not stand still so it’s time for us to get back to work.”…..more here