DEFENCE IQ
Dr James Bosbotinis, a UK-based specialist in defence and international affairs, has provided some technical and political insights into hypersonics, and the implications for future defence alliances.
What is a Hypersonic Missile?
A hypersonic missile travels at speeds of Mach 5 and higher – five times faster than the speed of sound (3836 mph), which is around 1 mile per second. Some missiles, such as Russia’s Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, are allegedly capable of reaching Mach 10 speeds (7672 mph) and distances up to 1200 miles.
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In comparison, the US Tomahawk cruise missile – the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy’s go-to long range missile-system – is subsonic, travelling around 550 mph and travelling a maximum distance around 1500 miles.
Hypersonic missiles come in two variants:
- Hypersonic cruise missiles
This type of missile reaches its target with the help of a high-speed jet engine that allows it to travel at extreme speeds, in excess of Mach-5. It is non-ballistic – the opposite of traditional Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) which utilises gravitational forces to reach its target. - Hypersonic glide vehicles
This type of hypersonic missile utilises re-entry vehicles. Initially, the missile is launched into space on an arching trajectory, where the warheads are released and fall towards the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. Rather than leaving the payload at the mercy of gravitational forces – as is the case for traditional ICBMs – the warheads are attached to a glide vehicle which re-enters the atmosphere, and through its aerodynamic shape it can ride the shockwaves generated by its own lift as it breaches the speed of sound, giving it enough speed to overcome existing missile defence systems. The glide vehicle surfs on the atmosphere between 40-100km in altitude and reaches its destination by leveraging aerodynamic forces.
“Hypersonic missiles offer a number of advantages over subsonic and supersonic weapons, particularly with regard to the prosecution of time-critical targets (for example, mobile ballistic missile launchers), where the additional speed of a hypersonic weapon is valuable,” Bosbotinis argues.
“It can also overcome the defences of heavily-defended targets (such as an aircraft carrier).
“The development and deployment of hypersonic weapon systems will provide states with significantly enhanced strike capabilities and potentially, the means to coerce. This will be the case where a major regional power, such as Russia, may seek to coerce a neighbour, leveraging the threat of hypersonic strikes against critical targets. As such, the proliferation of hypersonic capabilities to regional states could also be destabilising, upsetting local balances of power. However, it could also strengthen deterrence”.
“In this regard, consider the implications of Iran deploying hypersonic weapons versus an Israeli deployment. Hypersonic weapons may also be problematic in terms of escalation control in the context of a NATO-Russia or US-China confrontation. This concerns dual-capable systems, that is, systems with both conventional and nuclear capabilities, for example, the Kinzhal.”
Bosbotinis also explains that dual-capable systems raise the issue of discrimination: how does one know if the incoming threat is conventional or nuclear? In the context of hypersonic threats, this is compounded by the reduced time available to decision-makers to respond to an incoming threat.
Moreover, the development of submarine-launched hypersonic missiles would raise the potential threat – real or perceived – of attempted decapitation strikes, utilising the combination of the inherent stealth of a nuclear-powered submarine and the speed of a hypersonic missile.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/04/politics/us-hypersonic-missile-test/index.html
The US successfully tested a hypersonic missile in mid-March but kept it quiet for two weeks to avoid escalating tensions with Russia as President Joe Biden was about to travel to Europe, according to a defense official familiar with the matter.
The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) was launched from a B-52 bomber off the west coast, the official said, in the first successful test of the Lockheed Martin version of the system. A booster engine accelerated the missile to high speed, at which point the air-breathing scramjet engine ignited and propelled the missile at hypersonic speeds of Mach 5 and above.
US, UK and Australia to develop hypersonic missiles
·Producer
Tue, April 5, 2022, 7:53 PM·5 min read
On April 5, it was revealed that President Joe Biden is preparing to announce that the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have created a security pact in response to China’s military expansion. The three nations are due to co-operate on the creation and development of hypersonic weapons in the so-called Aukus security pact, the Financial Times reported. One of the people familiar with the pact told the FT that an announcement could be made as early as Tuesday.
The push to co-develop the weapons is intended to counter the rise of China’s growing military presence. The Pentagon, the FT writes, has stepped up its efforts in developing hypersonic missiles after discovering how advanced China had become in evolving its weapons. The communist country has carried out several hundred hypersonic missile tests – a stark contrast to the U.S. which has only completed less than a dozen.
China is not the only U.S. adversary with access to the powerful new weapons. Russia’s military has claimed to have twice unleashed hypersonic missiles in its invasion of Ukraine, apparently destroying an arms depot in the process, during its monthlong onslaught.
The missile, designed to be launched from a MiG fighter jet, can fly at 10 times the speed of sound, and unlike other missiles can change course during its flight, making it impossible for air-defense systems to shoot it down. It can also be used to deliver nuclear weapons.
On March 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed it had struck an underground missile and ammunition warehouse in a village that borders Romania, and the following day, it had destroyed a fuel depot near the southern city of Mykolaiv.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said the attack used its newest Kinzhal, or “dagger,” hypersonic missile, in Ukraine.
https://www.ft.com/content/b8ddf153-b9ca-4db5-8835-cb8509a9921f
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