The race to develop hypersonic weapons of the superpowers

Flying at a speed of at least five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), hypersonic attack weapons are considered by military experts to be capable of penetrating all missile defense systems at present. In the world, not only the US is implementing a program to develop hypersonic attack weapons, but Russia and China are also pursuing this ambitious and expensive program.

Based on the established concept, hypersonic weapons are divided into two branches: hypersonic maneuverable warheads mounted on ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles. From the public information, Russia seems to have the advantage, but the outcome of who will have the upper hand in the race to develop hypersonic weapons is still undetermined.

Illustration / Rian.

Hypersonic maneuverable warhead

In fact, a hypersonic glide vehicle is a hypersonic glide vehicle miniaturized enough to be mounted on a ballistic missile. Its operating principle is based on the ability to maneuver high in the Earth's atmosphere, causing missile defense systems to lose track of it and bypass it.

“Each future ballistic missile can carry one or more hypersonic maneuvering warheads. This is also a weapon that can be equipped on the future generation of space bombers,” Russian military expert Konstantin Bogdanov said.

The hypersonic maneuverable warhead can be loaded with conventional or nuclear explosives, depending on the level of technology and the purpose of the country owning it. The concept of this type of weapon in recent years is often known as Prompt Global Strike, initiated by the US. Washington hopes that the hypersonic attack warhead will allow the US Army to accurately attack any location on Earth within 1 hour.

To perfect the related technologies, the Pentagon's Department of Advanced Research Projects Agency (DAPRA) introduced the Falcon project, a joint project with the US Air Force to develop an unmanned hypersonic glide vehicle in low Earth orbit. Testing of prototypes called Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) was carried out in 2010 and 2011, but without significant success.

In addition to the Falcon project, in 2011, the Pentagon also launched another hypersonic weapon project directed by the US Army called the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW). However, up to now, there is still no information about the test results of AHW.

Along with the United States, Russia also participated in the development of hypersonic glide warheads in the late 1990s. The Reutov Machine Building Complex was in charge of this program. Russia's new hypersonic glide vehicle was developed based on the prototype of the Albatros hypersonic missile technology. The result of this program was widely known to the public recently as "Product 4202", which is expected to be equipped on the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "Product 4202" was recognized by Russian defense officials as meeting the technical specifications set out in recent test launches. Specifically, in October 2016, the prototype "Product 4202" was tested on the Satan ICBM and reached a flight speed of Mach 5 (7km/s) when approaching the lower layer of the Earth's atmosphere. All parameters of the launch were recognized as successful.

More secretive than Russia and the United States, China is also pursuing its own hypersonic weapons program. According to many sources, since 2014, China has conducted 7 tests of the new generation DF-ZF ICBM equipped with hypersonic maneuverable warhead technology. However, information about the tests has not been disclosed.

According to US military analysts, the generation of hypersonic warheads developed by China can be suitable for both ICBMs and IRBMs. This “strategic weapon” is equipped with technology that allows for high-precision attacks, even when maneuvering at supersonic speeds. Most likely, this will be the direction in which China develops weapons to destroy aircraft carrier groups.

Hypersonic cruise missile

In this area, information about the US's new cruise missile development program is very clear. Over the past few years, the US has pursued the development of the X-51 Waverider missile, advertised as capable of reaching Mach 5+. However, this speed is only achieved at an altitude of 1,100km. The X-51 can be suitable for equipment on the B-2 bomber and the F-35 fighter. The Pentagon estimates that the X-51 can be put into service in the early 2020s.

Hypersonic cruise missiles can be said to be a field in which Russia has more experience in development than many countries in the world. However, for various reasons, Russia's new hypersonic missile development projects, despite having many outstanding features, have very little public information.

“At present, it is difficult to say that Russia is ahead of the US in the field of new-generation hypersonic cruise missiles. It is clear that they are also in the process of developing the product and this weapon will not be equipped before the mid-2020s. In addition, the scarcity of relevant information is also a barrier to making an assessment that Russia is superior,” commented expert Konstantin Bogdanov.

Recently, Russia announced information about a new generation of hypersonic cruise missiles called Zircon, but many specific information related to this weapon line was not disclosed.

“Zircon is still under development. The Russian military plans to complete it by the end of this decade and equip it first on Project 1144 nuclear-powered cruisers,” said K. Bogdanov.

Regarding this field, there is currently no information about China's new cruise missile development program. However, experts say that Beijing is quietly developing this futuristic weapon line.

According to QĐND