Is it necessary? It’s like men getting pregnant. Is there really a need?
It has a purpose: to launch rockets from higher altitudes.
It appears one of its primary functions is to launch spacecraft from a very high altitude rather than ground launch. That could be a very big deal.
Yes, much much easier to launch things into orbit if you don’t have to burden the rocket with fuels to cut through the thicker atmosphere at lower levels. Way cheaper to get things into orbit.
“Is there really a need?”
The US, and the world, has been working with hypersonic vehicles since before WW II. A hypersonic vehicle is defined as being able to travel in excess of mach 5. Even the German V2’s in WW II were hypersonic at 3800 MPH.
So the need I see is the launching of weapons. The leaders in this field right now are the US, Russia, and China. And China since the 1990’s has become a concern with Clinton, Hughes, and Loral giving them the MRV, their targeting capacity has greatly improved.
wy69