Washington: A provision in the House Armed Services Committee’s draft policy bill could pave the way for a “National Hypersonic Initiative” aimed at addressing development and testing gaps and accelerating the Pentagon’s path to fielding the technology.

The US Department of Defence is investing in a number of hypersonic research and development efforts across the military services, and lawmakers say they’re concerned about coordination as well as workforce and industrial base limitations, according to the committee’s proposed fiscal 2023 defence policy legislation.

In light of threats from China and Russia, the Pentagon has prioritized research and development of hypersonic systems, which can travel at or above Mach 5. The department is expected to spend $15 billion between 2015 and 2024 to advance the technology, and the White House’s National Security Council earlier this year added hypersonic capabilities to its list of critical technologies.

The bill language directs the department to explore options for creating a National Hypersonic Initiative that would guide collaboration among the services and agencies involved in development and testing activities. It would also focus on partnerships with academia and the private sector on technology maturation and drive “innovative solutions” to accelerate production and increase manufacturing capacity.