The market for conventional missiles is booming, despite the slowdown in global defence spending. “Mounting armed conflicts around the world, and the persistent threat of global terrorism, are partly responsible,” The Economist says, but missiles specifically are believed to reduce civilian casualties in warfare. “While traditional aerial-bombing tactics often kill more civilians than hostile combatants, missiles are much more effective at hitting their target without collateral damage. And as they can be launched … by drones controlled remotely by pilots often sitting back at their home bases in America or Britain, the risk of military casualties are minimised too. The growing sophistication of such weapons is also a boon for makers of them… Missiles are no longer just flying bombs. Many now contain more computer than explosive to help them find their targets autonomously.” Also on the conveyor belt of the race to global destruction: hypersonic missiles “that can travel at five or more times the speed of sound.”