The first A&S goal is to enable innovative acquisition approaches that deliver warfighting capability at the speed of relevance.
Hypersonic weapons have the potential to alter the future of strike, air combat and air defense, Lord said.
"The United States has historically been a world leader in hypersonics research," she noted. "However, we have consistently made the decision not to weaponize this technology in the past — in large part due to our recent focus on countering violent extremist organizations."
The United States' potential adversaries in this great power competition have dramatically increased their emphasis on weaponized hypersonic technologies, which could be creating an unacceptable capability gap, she said.
It is from the analysis baseline that we determine areas that may require innovation or increased capacity to keep pace with the advancing threat, Lord said.
"Hypersonic defense broadly aligns with more traditional air and missile defense," she said. "It also requires significant innovations across the entire kill chain, spanning indications and warning, sensing, command and control, and advanced intercept capabilities."
Hypersonic and counter-hypersonic technology is advancing rapidly, and the demand for these capabilities is strong, she said.
"Our offensive hypersonics capability is maturing, with a number of systems being accelerated. On the defensive side, there is a wide range of efforts underway to assess alternatives.
"We in A&S must look to the future and ensure that our industrial base is prepared to produce these weapons once the technology is mature and demonstrated," Lord said, adding that they must also consider how to sustain hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons over the long term.