Incredible video shows a hypersonic rocket sled shooting down a track at 6,599 miles per hour - almost two miles per SECOND - during US Air Force testing in New Mexico (5 Pics)
The U.S. Air Force released video last week of its latest hypersonic sled test which went shooting down a track at 6,599 miles per hour.
The footage shows the sled traveling on a track at the Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico at almost two miles per second - which is considered mach 8.6 speed - more than eight times the speed of sound.
The sled was traveling so fast, it's hard for the naked eye to see it moving.
The U.S. Air Force released video of one of its latest hypersonic sled tests
The footage shows the sled traveling on a track at the Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico at 6,599 miles per hour
The sled was moving more than one mile per second, which is considered mach 8.6 speed - more than eight times the speed of sound
Seeing the sled in motion is virtually impossible without an extra-high speed camera
The apparatus was several miles away from where the camera was positioned at the start of the clip.
Viewers can only see the light from the sled as it barrels towards the camera. The sound of the sonic boom can be heard as the sled speeds by.
Seeing the sled in motion is virtually impossible without an extra-high speed camera.
It's difficult to see the sled moving even after the video is slowed down.
The video's release follows the Pentagon's July announcement that the military wants to explore the capabilities of hypersonic weaponry
'The one video on the internet which ISN'T using a high-speed camera,' noted a disappointed Facebook user in the comments section of the video.
The high-speed test comes less than two months after the Pentagon announced it wants to explore the capabilities of hypersonic weaponry following Russia's successful test of a hypersonic missile in 2018.
Hypersonic weapons travel at least five times the speed of sound. Creating a hypersonic arsenal ranks among the Army's top priorities, according to Defense News, because military leaders are interested in using the them to destroy enemy systems in contested battlespace.
