The race among superpowers to develop hypersonic weapons.

Flying at at least five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), hypersonic attack weapons are considered by military experts to be capable of penetrating any current missile defense system. Globally, the United States is not the only country pursuing hypersonic attack weapon development programs; Russia and China are also undertaking these ambitious and costly endeavors.

Based on established definitions, hypersonic weapons are divided into two branches: hypersonic maneuverable warheads mounted on ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles. From publicly available information, Russia appears to have an advantage, but the outcome of who will prevail in the hypersonic weapons development race remains uncertain.

Illustration photo / Rian.

Hypersonic maneuverable warhead

In fact, a hypersonic maneuvering warhead is a hypersonic aerodynamic glide vehicle miniaturized enough to fit into a ballistic missile. Its operating principle relies on its ability to maneuver at high altitudes in the Earth's atmosphere, causing missile defense systems to lose track of it and bypass it.

"Each future ballistic missile could carry one or more hypersonic maneuverable warheads. This is also a weapon that could be equipped on future generations of space bombers," Russian military expert Konstantin Bogdanov stated.

Hypersonic maneuverable warheads can be loaded with conventional or nuclear explosives, depending on the level of technology and the intended use of the nation that possesses them. In recent years, this type of weapon has become known as the "Prompt Global Strike" weapon, initiated by the United States. Washington expects hypersonic warheads to allow the US military to accurately strike any location on Earth within one hour.

To refine the related technologies, the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DAPRA) introduced the Falcon project. This was a collaborative project with the U.S. Air Force to develop an unmanned hypersonic glide vehicle for low Earth orbit. Testing of prototypes, codenamed Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), was conducted 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 Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW). However, to date, there is still no information about the test results of the 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 Albatros hypersonic missile technology prototype. The result of this program, recently widely publicized, is "Product 4202," intended for deployment on the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Russian defense officials have recognized "Product 4202" as meeting the technical specifications in recent test launches. Specifically, in October 2016, the "Product 4202" prototype was tested on the Satan ICBM and reached a speed of Mach 5 (7 km/second) upon approaching the lower atmosphere. All launch parameters were deemed successful.

More discreet than Russia and the US, China is also pursuing a domestic hypersonic weapons program. According to several sources, since 2014, China has conducted seven tests of the new generation DF-ZF ICBMs equipped with hypersonic maneuverable warhead technology. However, information about these tests has not been disclosed.

According to US military analysts, the generation of hypersonic warheads developed by China could be suitable for deployment on both ICBMs and IRBMs. This "strategic weapon" is equipped with technology that allows for highly accurate strikes, even while maneuvering at hypersonic speeds. It is highly likely that this will be the direction China takes in developing weapons to destroy aircraft carrier groups.

Supersonic cruise missile

In this area, information regarding the US's new cruise missile development program is quite clear. Over the past few years, the US has pursued the development of the X-51 Waverider missile, touted as capable of reaching speeds of Mach 5+. However, this speed is only achievable at an altitude of 1,100 km. The X-51 could be suitable for deployment on the B-2 bomber and the F-35 fighter jet. The Pentagon anticipates that the X-51 could enter service in the early 2020s.

It can be said that Russia has more experience in developing hypersonic cruise missiles than many other countries in the world. However, for various reasons, despite the many outstanding features of Russia's new hypersonic missile development projects, very little information is publicly available.

"Currently, it's difficult to say whether Russia is ahead of the US in the field of next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles. It's clear they are also in the process of developing such products, and these weapons will likely not be deployed until the mid-2020s. Furthermore, the scarcity of relevant information is also a barrier to assessing whether Russia has the upper hand," commented expert Konstantin Bogdanov.

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

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

Regarding this area, no information has been released concerning China's new cruise missile development program. However, informed sources believe that Beijing is quietly developing this futuristic weapon system.

According to the People's Army Newspaper