India is developing a new radar system designed to detect hypersonic missiles traveling at speeds above Mach 5, or roughly 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) per hour.
One of the biggest challenges in tracking hypersonic weapons is the plasma layer generated around the missile during flight, which interferes with conventional radar detection methods.
At extreme velocities, compressed air around the vehicle becomes superheated and transforms into electrically charged plasma, forming an envelope that can disrupt tracking systems.
