What is difference between supersonic and hypersonic missiles?

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has claimed that it launched Fattah hypersonic missiles at Israel late at night, causing destruction in Israel. Do you know the difference between supersonic and hypersonic missiles?

The main difference between supersonic and hypersonic missiles lies in their speed and technology. Let’s understand both in simple terms:

Supersonic Missiles:

Speed: Travels faster than the speed of sound. Their speed ranges from Mach 1 to Mach 5 (Mach 1 = 1,235 km/h), so approximately 1,235 to 6,125 km/h.

Technology: Uses traditional jet or rocket propulsion.

Examples: India’s BrahMos missile, Russia’s P-800 Oniks

Features: High speed, but can be intercepted by modern defense systems like the U.S. THAAD. Several times faster than sound but more detectable. Due to lack of advanced technology, most countries rely on supersonic missiles.

Hypersonic Missiles:

Speed: Exceeds Mach 5, i.e., over 6,125 km/h.

Types of Technology: Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGV) glide from space toward targets on Earth. Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCM) use special engines called scramjets.

Examples: Russia’s Avangard and Zircon, China’s DF-ZF, U.S. experimental projects

Features: Extremely fast and very hard to intercept. Can change trajectory mid-flight. Can evade radar detection.

Only a few countries in the world currently possess this advanced technology.