Weapons Design, Engineering Ethics, and the Duty to Inform: A Case Study on U.S. Hypersonic Missile Development

A large number of engineers take part in the design of weapons technologies. In the United States, for instance, the Department of Defense (DOD) advertises itself as “one of the world’s largest engineering organizations” [1]. In a 2023 survey asking U.S. engineering students which employers they most desired to work for, arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin rated first [2]. Three of its counterparts— Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing—ranked in the top ten.