An Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) carried by a B-52 bomber
An R-37 hypersonic air-to-air missile at 2013 MAKS airshow
Hypersonic missile
Scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile

A hypersonic weapon is a weapon capable of travelling at hypersonic speed, defined as between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound or about 1 to 5 miles per second (1.6 to 8.0 km/s).[1]

Below such speeds, weapons would be characterized as subsonic or supersonic, while above such speeds, the molecules of the atmosphere disassociate into a plasma which makes control and communication difficult. Directed-energy weapons such as lasers may operate at higher speeds but are considered a different class of weaponry.

There are multiple types of hypersonic weapon:

  1. Hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV): missile warheads which maneuver and glide through the atmosphere at high speeds after an initial ballistic launch phase[2][1]
  2. Hypersonic cruise missile: cruise missiles which use air-breathing engines such as scramjets to reach high speeds[2][1]
  3. Hypersonic aircraft using air-breathing engines such as scramjets to reach high speeds[1]
  4. Guns which fire cannon-launched guided projectiles. These may be developments of traditional artillery or novel technologies such as railguns.[1]
  5. Ballistic missiles traveling at high speeds during its atmospheric reentry
  6. Hypersonic air-to-air missile: an AAM which use air-breathing engines such as scramjet to intercept air targets (such as Vympel R-37)

History

The Silbervogel was the first design for a hypersonic weapon and was developed by German scientists in the 1930s.[3]

In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia was seen to have fielded operational weapons and used them for combat. The Kremlin presents new hypersonic weapons as supposedly capable of overcoming "any" foreign missile defense systems, with the "pre-nuclear deterrence" concept contained in its 2014 iteration of the official Russian Military Doctrine.[4] A volley of Russian hypersonic missiles were launched at Kyiv in January 2023.[5]

By country

See also Hypersonic flight#Hypersonic weapons, National Defense Space Architecture

Plans, programs and projects for such weaponry include:

Multinational

Brazil

China

France

  • VERAS hypersonic glide vehicle (first French program on hypersonics; launched in 1965 and cancelled in 1971)
  • ASN4G hypersonic air-launched cruise missile (under development; technological work on the missile began in the early 1990s and scheduled to succeed the ASMP in the pre-strategic deterrence role in 2035)
  • LEA hypersonic cruise demonstrator (project launched in 2003 to validate technologies for the ASN4G program)
  • Prométhée scramjet missile program (little is known about the program beyond the fact that a test, codenamed ASTRÉE, of a mixed ramjet capable of successive subsonic and supersonic combustion was carried out in the United States in either 2021 or 2022)[6][7]
  • VMaX (Véhicule Manœuvrant Expérimental) hypersonic glide vehicle (first flight test took place on June 26, 2023, from the DGA's site in Biscarrosse and was successful)[8][9][10][11][12]
  • VMaX-2 hypersonic glide vehicle (first flight test scheduled for 2024 or 2025)
  • Espadon hypersonic combat aircraft program

Germany

India

Iran

  • Fattah-1 – hypersonic ballistic missile unveiled in June 2023[16]
  • Fattah-2 – hypersonic ballistic missile unveiled in November 2023[17]

Japan

North Korea

Russia

South Korea

  • Hycore cruise missile (scramjet two-stage missile)

United Kingdom

  • HVX (Hypersonic Air Vehicle Experimental) demonstrator program announced in July 2022
  • Concept V, a single-engine hypersonic aircraft concept unveiled under the HVX program

United States

Hypersonic missile defense

European Union

  • HYDIS² (HYpersonic Defence Interceptor Study) between France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands: Announced on June 20, 2023, it is a project led by MBDA. It was selected in March 2023 and partially funded by the European Defense Fund (EDF). Its aim is to propose an architecture and technology maturation concept study for an endo-atmospheric interceptor to counter new, highly sophisticated emerging threats. HYDIS² is centered around the MBDA's Aquila hypersonic missile interceptor concept and will involve a consortium of 19 partners and over 30 subcontractors from 14 European countries.[20] France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have already confirmed their support and commitment, by signing a letter of intent and agreeing to initial joint requirements.[21] The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a countermeasure that could be integrated into the French-led EU TWISTER (Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER surveillance) capability program. TWISTER, launched in 2019 with MBDA France acting as lead contractor as well, is intended to be an air defense system capable of early warning, tracking and intercepting high-performance air threats, including defense against ballistic missiles (BMD) and hypersonic vehicles.[22][23] The program involves France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Germany.[24]
  • EU HYDEF (European Hypersonic Defence Interceptor): Competing against HYDIS², this project also covers the concept phase to develop an endo-atmospheric interceptor and is related to TWISTER. Selected in July 2022, it is also partially funded by the EDF. It is coordinated by Spain's SENER Aeroespacial Sociedad Anonima, while Germany's Diehl Defence is serving as the overall technical lead. They are heading a consortium of partners and subcontractors from various EU countries.[23]

Israel

On June 14, 2023 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced the SkySonic hypersonic missile interceptor missile, it is assumed that the missile could take out threats between 20 and 70 km altitude, the missile will be officially displayed in the Paris Air show 2023.

United States

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 John T. Watts; Christian Trotti; Mark J. Massa (August 2020), Primer on Hypersonic Weapons in the Indo-Pacific Region (PDF), Atlantic Council, ISBN 978-1-61977-111-6
  2. 1 2 "'National pride is at stake.' Russia, China, United States race to build hypersonic weapons". www.science.org. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  3. ↑ David Wright; Cameron Tracy (1 August 2021), "Overhyped: The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons", Scientific American, 325 (2): 64–71
  4. ↑ McDermott, Roger (4 February 2022). "The Role of Hypersonic Weapons in Russian Military Strategy". The Jamestown Foundation.
  5. ↑ "Ukraine war: Kyiv says it shot down Russian hypersonic missiles". 16 May 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "MBDA en dit un peu plus sur l'ASN4G, le futur missile de la composante aéroportée de la dissuasion française". 12 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "Le futur missile de la composante aéroportée de la dissuasion française : l'ASN4G". 13 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "France debuts hypersonic glide weapon in first VMaX test flight". 28 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "France Conducts First VMaX Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Test". 27 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "France conducts first test firing of V-MAX hypersonic glider demonstrator". 27 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "La France a testé le planeur hypersonique VMAX d'Ariane Group". 27 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Armées : la France a testé pour la première fois un planeur hypervéloce, capable de voler à plus de Mach 5". 27 June 2023.
  13. ↑ https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/R45811.pdf
  14. 1 2 https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23688406/r45811.pdf
  15. ↑ "Institute of Structures and Design".
  16. ↑ "سپاه پاسداران در مراسمی با حضور ابراهیم رئیسی از «موشک هایپرسونیک فتاح» رونمایی کرد". ایران اینترنشنال (in Persian). 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  17. ↑ Motamedi, Maziar. "Iran unveils upgraded hypersonic missile as Khamenei touts Israel 'failure'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "HALO programme accelerates US Navy hypersonic capability drive". 5 September 2022.
  19. ↑ https://www.dote.osd.mil/Portals/97/pub/reports/FY2018/navy/2018oasuw.pdf?ver=2019-08-21-155650-680
  20. ↑ "MBDA debuts European hypersonic interceptor concept Aquila". 20 June 2023.
  21. ↑ "Aquila: MBDA to lead consortium for European interceptor against hypersonic threats". 20 June 2023.
  22. ↑ "Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO)'s projects - Overview" (PDF). 12 November 2019.
  23. 1 2 "Spanish, German companies start work on hypersonic missile interceptor". 5 September 2022.
  24. ↑ "Timely Warning and Interception With Space-Based Theater Surveillance (TWISTER)". 12 November 2019.
  25. ↑ Kim, Victoria; Schmitt, Eric; Ismay, John (16 May 2023). "U.S. Officials Confirm Damage to Patriot Defense System in Kyiv Attack". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  26. ↑ "Counter Hypersonics". Northrop Grumman. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  27. ↑ https://breakingdefense.com/2022/06/northrop-raytheon-selected-to-continue-work-on-hypersonic-missile-interceptor/
  28. ↑ https://breakingdefense.com/2022/09/raytheon-moves-to-preliminary-design-for-glide-phase-interceptor-for-hypersonic-defense/
  29. ↑ "General Says Countering Hypersonic Weapons Is Imperative". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 6 June 2023.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Kelley M. Sayler. Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF). Congressional Research Service.


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