They should be included in the armament of the American ground forces, air force and navy. The Lockheed Martin armory has the best hope of success, whose hypersonic glider carried by the rocket should be tested in the first half of this year.
–
Pentagon officials estimate that the Army and Navy’s missile-only missile program and hypersonic glider, developed by Lockheed, are expected to cost $ 28.5 billion in the coming years. In order to accelerate the development and first missiles under the LRHW (long-range hypersonic glider for the army with a range of over 2000 km) and CPS (conventional rapid interest rate missile for the navy) programs, the army received the end of fiscal year 2023, ie in mid-2024. , both components of the armed forces will conduct tests together.
–
The LRHW / CPS concept corresponds to the Russian Avant-Garde, which already has the country in its arsenal.
–
| Hypersonic weapons |
| Hypersonic weapons are missiles moving at a speed at least five times the speed of sound, but sometimes at a speed ten or twenty times the speed of sound. They have different forms. It can be a hypersonic buoyancy body (glider) without an engine, which brings out the launch vehicle, from which it separates and maneuvers sharply when returning to the atmosphere, but also missiles with their own engines, whether solid fuels or thrust ramjet / scramjet, including missiles with a flat flight path that will not leave the atmosphere. |
—
Lockheed is developing six different missiles, which should go into production between 2023 and 2026, said its high representative Jim Taiclet in October. From the current $ 1.5 billion, the company’s revenue for developing and manufacturing hypersonic missiles could increase to $ 3 billion in 2026 as individual types of missiles go into series production, said John Mollard, who is in charge of finances in Lockheed.
–
Other companies will also get their share of the rich cake, because Dynetics also participates in the development of LRHW and CPS. So far, he has signed a contract to produce 14 hypersonic buoyancy bodies for $ 342 million, but he could produce a total of 124 for a billion dollars. The solid propellant engines for the rockets that carry them are developed by Northtrop Grumman.
–
More hypersonic missiles are evolving
In addition, it is not just one type of missile being developed, the military still has the Operational Fires program, again developed by Lockheed, along with Northrop, Dynetics and Aerojet.
–
B-52 bomber with hypersonic missile AGM-138 ARRW
Photo: USAF
The air force has four programs, these are ARRW missiles fired from bombers with a range of 1600 km and speeds up to eight times the speed of sound, which is a clear answer to the Russian Kinjal. However, three tests of prototypes of the Lockheed AGM-183A missile belonging to the ARRW category were unsuccessful, the last failed on December 15.
–
Furthermore, the Air Force plans to have hypersonic missiles with a flat flight path HACM powered by a solid-state clock engine, where the contractor is not yet known.
–
They are also developing a TBG tactical missile at seven times the speed of sound, and are running highly advanced HAWC / HSW-ab projects, which are powered by a supersonic scramjet propulsion engine from Northrop and Raytheon.
–
The concept of this missile was tested by both companies in August under a $ 200 million contract. The missile uses a combined propulsion, the rocket engine gives it a speed exceeding the speed of sound after firing, and then a thrust motor starts, which accelerates it to five times the speed of sound. The advantage of this missile over those using hypersonic gliders is a longer engine run and lower price.
–
“It’s all about securing more and more capabilities and more categories of hypersonic weapons,” said Lockheed’s vice president of air domination and assault weapons, Jay Pitman. “This will increase the level of strategic deterrence,” he explained.
–
As early as 2018, the Russian president announced that Russia had these missiles in its arsenal and was developing others. The Chinese missile test raised concerns last summer. The hypersonic glider was launched by a space rocket, and after orbiting the Earth, it hit the target area, separating another body from it. US Chief of Staff Mark Milley said in October that the test had almost the same effect as when the Soviets launched the first satellite.
–
Hypersonic weapons under fire
However, US hypersonic weapons development programs face criticism for several reasons. There are concerns not only about the rising price, but also about how they will be usable on the battlefield. The Union of Fearing Scientists has raised doubts as to whether these weapons actually deliver higher performance than existing ballistic missiles, and warned of destabilizing global arms races.
–
Experts also say that they cannot change the situation significantly, because the great powers already have such large arsenals of nuclear weapons that missile defense is not enough for them. In addition, Russia and China have less extensive anti-missile umbrellas than the United States.
–
According to the Congressional Research Service, these missiles could lead to escalating conflicts because they have an unpredictable trajectory, which could lead to erroneous reactions.
–
Existing ballistic missiles also reach hypersonic speeds above 6,100 km / h, but hypersonic weapons are able to maneuver in the atmosphere at this speed, allowing them to penetrate anti-missile umbrellas. This is interesting for Russia and China, because the US is also building its strategy on an effective defense against ballistic missiles.
—
