Regardless of the actual truth behind these claims, it does reveal an interesting point about thinking in places like Russia and China. The West continues to focus on stealth platforms and yet there seems to be a growing trend towards hypersonic missile technologies amongst what we would traditionally describe as our potential enemies. It’s a little bit like those drunken arguments you used to have with mates about who would win a fight between improbable opponents like Godzilla and King Kong. What does the future hold - stealth or hypersonic? Or is hypersonic the new stealth? One might argue that it is; it would certainly ft in with the thinking that the pilot is likely to be the weakest link in future air power delivery. Would be interesting to understand our opponents’ doctrine to see their views on these things if we are to be appropriately configured for the next rather than last conflict. So much for COIN being the only future conflict!