U.S. claims hypersonic flight record

This was the flight of the Boeing X-51A Waverider the company and the U.S. military says has made aviation history.

The unmanned craft achieved the longest-ever hypersonic flight by a jet-fuelled plane.

It hurtled along at five times the speed of sound for three and a half minutes.

It covered 230 nautical miles in just over six minutes across the skies of California.

The U.S. Air Force says the craft are intended to demonstrate the new technology, not as a prototype for new weapons systems.

It was the last of four X-51A craft built by Boeing.

The end of the dramatic journey was a little less than glorious - it was crashed into the Pacific Ocean in a controlled dive.