Those who master the art of hypersonic missile technology will be the one dominate the future warfare. This is the new arms race which is will have a larger impact on future conflicts. Hypersonic weapons have become has national pride than just another missile technology. The real question is who is winning the new arms race? Race to master the hypersonic missile systems. In this exclusive article, we will be the missiles system in development by the world powers.
The Need for Hyper-Sonic weapons:
Unlike ICBMs, which travel in predictable paths at high altitudes in a parabolic arc toward their target, hypersonic weapons take unpredictable paths at low altitudes with higher speeds. As a result, these weapons have the potential to render modern ballistic missile defence systems obsolete.
A hypersonic missile exceeds Mach-5 (3,800 mph) and is five times faster than the speed of sound. Currently, there is no operational defence system that can deny the use of these strategic weapons. As a result, many world powers including the US, Russia, India, and China are working on hypersonic missiles.
Two main types of hypersonic weapons:
Two main types of hypersonic weapons are hypersonic cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles. Hypersonic weapons, by definition, travel five or more times the speed of sound. Hypersonic cruise missiles, which are powered by scramjet, are restricted below 100,000 feet; hypersonic glide vehicles can travel higher.
Let’s explore the weapon platforms under development country wise:
The United States of America:
The most powerful country in the world. The United States armed forces dominate modern weapon technology. In 2020 the United States announced it has successfully tested an unarmed prototype of a hypersonic missile, a nuclear-capable weapon that could accelerate the arms race.
But the cooperation is not just with the single delivery system. Here are the six of the most potent US hypersonic weapon system. Which could dominate the US attack strategy shortly.
The Lockheed Martin SR-72:
The Lockheed Martin SR-72, colloquially referred to as “Son of Blackbird”, is an American hypersonic UAV concept intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance proposed privately in 2013 by Lockheed Martin as a a a successor to the retired Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
In November 2018, Lockheed Martin stated that a prototype of the SR-72 was scheduled to fly by 2025. The aircraft will be capable of firing hypersonic missiles.
Capable of achieving top speed for Mach-5 or 5 times the speed of sound.
Boeing X-51 Waverider:
The Boeing X-51 Waverider is an unmanned research scramjet experimental aircraft for hypersonic flight at Mach 5 and an altitude of 70,000 feet. The aircraft was designated X-51 in 2005. It completed its first powered hypersonic flight on 26 May 2010. It has a maximum speed of over Mach-6 with a range of about 700 Kilometres.
Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW):
The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) is a demonstrative long-range glide vehicle capable of flying within the planet’s atmosphere at hypersonic speed.
The technology was developed through the cooperative effort of the US Department of Defence to evaluate a conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) capability for striking time-sensitive high-value targets.
In November 2011, AHW was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, to the Reagan Test Site on the Marshall Islands. The glide vehicle successfully hit the target, which is located about 3,700km away from the launch site. The vehicle’s flight characteristics were gathered from space, air/sea and ground-based platforms.
Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2:
Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) is an experimental hypersonic glide vehicle developed as part of the DARPA Falcon Project capable of flying at 13,000 mph (Mach 17.53, 21,000 km/h).
It is a testbed for technologies to provide the United States with the capability to reach any target in the world within one hour (Prompt Global Strike) using an unmanned hypersonic bomber aircraft.
HTV:
Top secret projects the HTV-2 and HTV-3X are proposed unmanned transonic aircraft that could perform long-distance airstrikes.
DARPA program, the HTV-2, has demonstrated robust and stable aerodynamically controlled flight at speeds greater than Mach 20.
The HTV-3X would be the size of a conventional fighter jet. Blackswift was a project announced under the Falcon banner using a fighter-sized unmanned aircraft that would take off from a runway and accelerate to Mach 6 (7,350 km/h; 4,567 mph) before completing its mission and landing again. The memo of understanding between DARPA and the USAF on Blackswift—also known as the HTV-3X—was signed in September 2007. The Blackswift HTV-3X did not receive the needed funding and was cancelled in October 2008. Not many details are available about the latest version. Many suspects the reports of UFO sightings in some part of the US could well be this super fast unmanned jets with unbelievable capabilities with more speed and manoeuvrability.
Boeing X-37:
Otherwise known as Star Wars Spacecraft. The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane.
The X-37B is an autonomous reusable spaceplane sent to low Earth orbit for long missions that can last up to two years. The aircraft that was launched on Sunday — Operational Test Vehicle 6 — carries several U.S. military and NASA science experiments. The Air Force operates two X-37B spacecraft made by Boeing as of 2020.
The robotic vehicle resembles NASA’s famous space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall, with a wingspan just less than 15 feet (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000 lbs. (4,990 kilograms).
The X-37B’s payload bay (the area in which the cargo is packed) measures 7 feet long by 4 feet wide (2.1 by 1.2 m) — about the size of a pickup truck bed. Just what the X-37B carries in there is unclear, however. Air Force officials generally comment only on the overall goals of the program, stressing that each payload is classified.
France Hypersonic Missiles:
ASN4G:
The studies for the successor to the ASMP-A, dubbed ASN4G (air-sol nucléaire de 4e génération), have already begun. The aim is to design a missile capable of either high supersonic (Mach 4-5) or hypersonic speeds (Mach 7-8). Which can be launched from all the 4th Generation fighter jets and the future drones and here in development in France.
The daring concepts, for example, based on stealth and hypersonic technologies, at the forefront of technological development, will be explored.
The Hypersonic stand of the missile system is expected to be in service by 2035. Could be capable of defeating any missiles defence systems.
Russia’s Hypersonic weapons and platforms:
According to Vladimir Putin, the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in 2002 forced Russia to start developing hypersonic weapons: “We had to create these [hypersonic] weapons in response to the US deployment of a strategic missile defense system, which in the future would be capable of virtually neutralizing, zeroing out all our nuclear potential” The effort to match and surpass the western future hypersonic systems continues to expand in Russia. Here are some of the most potent projects under development in Russia.
The Avangard:
The Avangard (Russian: Авангард; English: Vanguard; previously known as Objekt 4202, Yu-71 and Yu-74) is a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) that can be carried as a MIRV payload by the UR-100UTTKh, R-36M2 and RS-28 Sarmat heavy ICBMs. It can deliver both nuclear and conventional payloads.
The Avangard is one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.
According to Russian Defense Ministry’s press service/TASS, the Avangard missile system with the hypersonic glide-vehicle was demonstrated to the US inspection group in accordance with the New START treaty procedures on November 24–26, 2019.
HGVs differ from traditional ballistic missiles by their ability to maneuver and operate at lower altitudes. The combination of manoeuvrability and high speed poses significant challenges for conventional missile defense. With the advantage again swinging toward attack, the defense industry is concerned that weapons of this type will reignite the kind of arms race that dominated the cold war era.
The maximum speed is expected to be Mach 20-27. There is no major information are available in the public domain. The system is said to be the most feared future weapon system of Russia.
AS-X-19 Koala:
The P-750 Grom supersonic winged cruise missile with a range of 3000-4000 km was developed to replace the Kh-55 [AS-15 KENT]. The AS-X-19 Koala was an air-launched land-attack version derived from the SS-NX-24 Scorpion submarine-launched missile. A pair of AS-19 missiles were expected to arm the Tu-142 Bear-H bomber.
The missile carried two warheads independently guided to hit two targets 100 km apart. The letters BL in its American designation refer to the firing range in Barnaul, where it was tested.
The top speed is over 5 times the speed of sound. Not much information can be found. Expected to be able to carry 2 independent 200 kt nuclear warheads.
3M22 Zircon:
According to the commander in chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Yevmenov, as of January 2020, Zircon was still in the testing phase and despite the overall positive evaluation of the test program, still suffered from the “childhood diseases” (Russian idiom meaning “teething problems”).
Modernized frigates are expected to be the first platform to receive the hypersonic missile, and the tests are to be continued in parallel with the Navy’s armament with the Kalibr cruise missile. Yevmenov further stated Zircon is expected to enter service “in the coming years”.
In early January 2020, Zircon was first test-launched from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the Barents Sea, and successfully hit a ground target in the Northern Urals, exceeding the distance of 500 km.
Zircon is believed to be a manoeuvring, winged hypersonic cruise missile with a lift-generating centre body. A booster stage with solid-fuel engines accelerates it to supersonic speeds, after which a scramjet motor with liquid-fuel (Decilin [ru]) (JP-10 Jet fuel) in the second stage accelerates it to hypersonic speeds.
The missile’s range is estimated to be 135 to 270 nautical miles (155 to 311 mi; 250 to 500 km) at a low level, and up to 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) in a semi-ballistic trajectory; the average range is around 400–450 km (250–280 mi; 220–240 nmi).
According to Russian media (2017), the longest possible range is 540 nmi (620 mi; 1,000 km) and for this purpose, a new fuel was created. Some internet tabloid even claims the range of missile can reach 1,000 – 2,000 km but there is no evidence for that.
Zircon can travel at a speed of Mach 8–Mach 9 (6,090–6,851 mph; 9,800–11,025 km/h; 2,722.3–3,062.6 m/s). This has led to concerns that it could penetrate existing naval defense systems. Zircon exchanges information in flight and can be controlled by commands if necessary.
India:
India has joined the global race in developing hypersonic weapons, which can hit the target without being intercepted. Countries are going for hypersonic missiles essentially to protect themselves from ballistic missile defense systems, according to an Indian missile expert.
In September 2020, India’s Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), joining the elite hypersonic club.
The tests also laid the foundation for the development of a hypersonic cruise missiles system in the future, which would be a significant addition to India’s military might.
Brahmos-2:
BrahMos block-2 is a hypersonic cruise missile currently under joint development by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia, which have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
It is the second of the BrahMos series of cruise missiles. The BrahMos-II is expected to have a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi; 540 nmi) and a speed of Mach 8.
During the cruise stage of flight the missile will be propelled by a scramjet airbreathing jet engine. Other details, including production cost and physical dimensions of the missile, are yet to be published.
The planned operational range of the BrahMos-II has been restricted to 290 kilometres as Russia is a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which prohibits it from helping other countries develop missiles with ranges above 300 kilometres (190 mi; 160 nmi). However, now that India is also a MTCR signatory, it is trying to extend the range of BrahMos.
Its top speed will be double that of the current BrahMos-I, and it has been described as the fastest cruise missile in the world. Russia is developing a special and secret fuel formula to enable the BrahMos-II to exceed Mach 8.
Shaurya:
The Shaurya missile is a canister launched hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile developed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for use by the Indian Armed Forces. It has a range of 700 to 1,900 km (430 to 1,180 mi) and is capable of carrying a payload of 200 kg to 1 tonne conventional or nuclear warhead. It gives the potential to strike at very-long-range against any adversary.
The missile was launched from an underground facility with an in-built canister from Complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.
The missile was successfully test-fired for the third time, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha, on Saturday 24 September 2011, in its final configuration. The missile flew at 7.5 Mach, and covered its full range of 700 km in 500 seconds. After this test, the missile is ready for production and induction into the Navy.
On 3 October 2020, DRDO successfully test-fired an advanced version of the Shaurya from Balasore as part of user trials. The Shaurya missile can strike targets at a range of around 800 kilometres that will complement the existing class of missile systems. The advanced version of Shaurya is lightweight and reaches hypersonic speed during the last phase of moving close to the target to render missile defence and countermeasure systems useless.
China’s hypersonic weapons:
DF-ZF:
The DF-ZF is a Chinese hypersonic glide vehicle, previously denoted by the Pentagon as WU-14 and currently officially operational on October 1st, 2019, in the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
The DF-ZF is a Chinese hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), previously denoted by the Pentagon as WU-14 and currently officially operational on October 1st, 2019, in the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The DF-ZF is designed to be mounted on a DF-17, a type of ballistic missile specifically designed to carry HGVs.
The DF-ZF is thought to reach speeds between Mach 5 (3,836 mph (6,173 km/h; 1,715 m/s)) and Mach 10 (7,680 mph (12,360 km/h; 3,430 m/s)).
The glider could be used for nuclear weapons delivery but could also be used to perform precision-strike conventional missions (for example, next-generation anti-ship ballistic missiles), which could penetrate “the layered air defences of a U.S. carrier strike group.”
Hypersonic glider vehicles are less susceptible to anti-ballistic missile countermeasures than conventional reentry vehicles (RVs). Normal RVs descend through the atmosphere on a predictable ballistic trajectory—a hypersonic glider like the HGV can pull up after reentering the atmosphere and approach its target in a relatively flat glide, lessening the time it can be detected, fired at, or re-engaged if an initial attack fails. Gliding makes it more manoeuvrable and extends its range. Although gliding creates more drag, it flies further than it would on a higher trajectory through space and is too low to be intercepted by exo-atmospheric kill vehicles.
The tradeoff is that warheads have less speed and altitude as they near the target, making them vulnerable to lower-tier interceptors, such as the Mach 17 Russian 53T6, ABM-3 Gazelle. Other potential counter-hypersonic interception measures may involve laser or railgun technologies, but such technologies will not be readily available.
A vehicle like the DF-ZF could be fitted to various Chinese ballistic missiles, such as the DF-21 medium-range missile (extending range from 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,200 to 1,900 mi)), and the DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missiles (extending range from 8,000 to 12,000 km (5,000 to 7,500 mi)).
Sources:
www.army-technology.com
www.space.com
eurasiantimes.com
Wikipedia for reference
