“They just seem obsolescent to me, in an age of hypersonic guided missiles.”
Hypersonic means that the missile’s position in two minutes is highly calculable. The faster the missile, the less it can maneuver.
With the computerized guidance and threat detection currently used the hypersonic missile may be just a waste of money, good only for marketing.
It's important to remember that for every known threat there is a countermeasure, whether it's antimissles, directed energy, or just moving further away from the threat.
If the threat is known, it can be adapted for or defeated.
Unknown threats are what kill us.
So how do we know if we know all the threats?
Ahhhh, that's the rub, isn't it?
Interesting! I think what is obsolete here is my knowledge of modern battlefield conditions.