Debrief: DOD Deputy Nominee Presses For Increased Hypersonic Spending

The health of the U.S. military’s nuclear deterrence has long been touted as the Defense Department’s top priority. So when Sen. Deb. Fischer (R-Neb.) asked the nominee to be the Pentagon’s No. 2 leader to agree with this tradition during his confirmation hearing on Feb. 25, an affirmation was expected.

But Stephen Feinberg hesitated briefly when responding.

“It might be,” he said. He later added it is critical, explaining that “the only reason why I hesitated on if it’s the most important is clearly modernization is key. We also need hypersonics because if our enemy can carry nuclear capability on things faster than ours, it’s a big problem. I think it’s a coordinated effort.”

The answer to Fischer’s question, and other similar remarks on hypersonic programs during the hearing, show that the Pentagon will likely increase its focus and spending on systems that so far have yet to show many tangible results. The individual services are progressing through delayed programs—the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy’s joint development of their respective Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) and Conventional Prompt Strike, and the U.S. Air Force’s Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) and Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM). ARRW has faced cancellations after failed tests, and HACM awaits a production decision after a slowed test campaign.

Leaders under the previous presidential administration publicly questioned the appeal of the systems. Previous Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, for example, pressed for the cutback of ARRW, saying the systems are limited in their capability to hit moving targets and broadly speaking are too expensive per round. ARRW would be $15 million to $18 million, while LRHW could range up to $41 million per round, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Feinberg was adamant with lawmakers that so far the Pentagon has underinvested in the mission area, which has created a “huge problem.” He also argued that hypersonic weapons are increasingly relevant for nuclear deterrence.

“It’s essential for our national security,” Feinberg says. “I don’t understand the thought process of the last administration, which didn’t have it at high importance. ... I’m not the person to be setting and making policies. My job would to be execute a faster development with reasonable cost ... a hypersonic capability.

“At the same time ... if you are totally reliant on your nuclear capabilities because tactically you’re slower because you don’t have hypersonics, that’s a diplomatic nightmare. And from a nuclear perspective, if the enemy is faster, boy that’s a huge problem. So we’ve got to get on that.”

Feinberg is speaking on a business area he was directly connected with based on his background as CEO of Cerberus Capital Management. Since 2019, Cerberus has owned Stratolaunch Systems, which developed the Talon A hypersonic testbed with the overall goal of increasing the pace of hypersonic flight tests using both its massive, twin-fuselage Roc launch aircraft and the “Spirit of Mojave” Boeing 747. Talon carries instrumentation, sensors, optical windows and any other technology that the Pentagon wants to use to test its hypersonic programs. The company is on contract for the U.S. Navy’s Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB).

During a December visit to the company’s Mojave headquarters, Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor addressed the unique relationship it will have with the Trump administration, saying conflict-of-interest rules would prevent any preferential treatment. Instead, Krevor argued the situation would be akin to a parent coaching a sports team with a child on it—making the Pentagon leadership under Feinberg more critical of it.