US amends hypersonic weapons strategy: If you can't zoom with 'em, boom 'em
- Reference: 1694544364
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/09/12/darpa_boeing_hypersonic_countermeasure/
- Source link:
"Turning to" may be a bit of an exaggeration since the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Glide Breaker [1]program has been around since 2018, and two previous contracts for the base phase of the project were awarded to [2]Aerojet and [3]Northrop Grumman in early 2020. Boeing's [4]$70.5 million award is the first for phase two of the project, however.
Phase 2, [5]according to DARPA, will see Boeing work on "quantifying aerodynamic jet interaction effects that result from DACS [divert and attitude control system] plumes and hypersonic air flows around an interceptor kill vehicle," while phase 1 saw the earlier contractors developing and demonstrating the DACS to "enable a kill vehicle to intercept hypersonic weapon threats," the research agency said.
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Boeing's announcement of its new contract includes a bit more detail as to what that will involve between now and 2027, when its role in the program is expected to complete. [7]According to Boeing, it'll be performing "computational fluid dynamics analysis, wind tunnel testing and evaluation of aerodynamic jet interaction effects during flight tests," in line with DARPA's description of the phase's labors.
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Based on that, and the [10]original bid solicitation, it seems more like Boeing will be gathering data on existing designs and concepts, which was backed up by company officials. "We're focusing on the technological understanding needed to further develop our nation's counter-hypersonic capabilities and defend from future threats," said Gil Griffin, executive director of Boeing Phantom Works Advanced Weapons.
"This phase of the Glide Breaker program will determine how factors like hypersonic airflow and firing jet thrusters to guide the vehicle affect system performance at extreme speed and altitude in a representative digital environment," said Griffin.
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Ultimately, what DARPA wants is a device able to launch from the ground "utilizing a divert-and-attitude-control-system-propelled kill vehicle" for taking out enemy hypersonic weapons, DARPA said.
Glide Breaker is designed to intercept hypersonic weapons which are able to fly at speeds faster than Mach 5 while maintaining maneuvering capabilities. In particular, Glide Breaker is designed to intercept hypersonic weapons during their "glide" phase, the period in which they've accelerated through their initial ascent and have taken on a flat trajectory toward their target.
If you can't beat 'em, shoot 'em out of the sky
Hypersonic weapons are able to cross vast distances at incredibly rapid speeds and have begun a new intercontinental arms race as the US and its rivals compete to achieve hypersonic supremacy. So far no one has managed to announce mastery of hypersonic arms, but several countries have already claimed to be zooming past the US.
[12]Concorde? Pffft. NASA wants a Mach 4 passenger jet
[13]Lockheed's ARRW hypersonic missile: Sometimes it flies, sometimes it just tries
[14]North Korean hackers had access to Russian missile maker for months, say researchers
[15]Stratolaunch takes hypersonic flight dreams to new heights with mid-air release success
Both [16]China and [17]Russia said they've tested hypersonic weapons, as has [18]North Korea , though exaggeration and obfuscation is the name of the game when it comes to international weapons research efforts.
Things are a bit more clear in the US, where DARPA has previously claimed one of its hypersonic testbeds was [19]ready for the real world . Despite those claims, other hypersonic missiles being [20]developed by the US Air Force have proven [21]less reliable , with Lockheed Martin's hypersonic ARRW eventually being canceled due to repeat failures.
US research labs, meanwhile, have [22]said the DoD's hypersonic timelines are "very hard to meet," with officials from Sandia National Lab in New Mexico suggesting opening secure lab doors to commercial contractors if the generals want their new missiles in a reasonable time.
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Whether hypersonic weapon intercept systems will be any easier to develop is also questionable. Northrop Grumman, which worked on phase one of Glide Breaker, [24]describes intercepting hypersonic missiles as trying to "hit a bullet with a bullet" – no easy task.
Far from simply shooting one missile at another, Northrop Senior Manager for launch and missile defense systems Tyler St. Onge said counter-hypersonic systems are complex and multi-facted.
"It starts from knowing that a threat is going to launch and includes sensing it, ensuring that the interceptor is getting real-time updates on the threat's location and verifying that we have intercepted the most likely threat in a complex scene," St. Onge said.
How far along DARPA is on such a complex, multi-component, and plausibly space-based project is, like a lot of sensitive information around hypersonic weapons programs, unknown. Given the state of the US's hypersonic weapons, it's probably going to be a while until such a defensive system becomes reality.
The US DoD and Japanese Ministry of Defense also [25]announced recently that they're in talks to jointly develop a hypersonic defense system. ®
Get our [26]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.darpa.mil/program/glide-breaker
[2] https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/2080211/
[3] https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/2065636/
[4] https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3520839//
[5] https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-04-15
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZQDfgtYGgcmfJPiZb-ZhogAAAwE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[7] https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=131319
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZQDfgtYGgcmfJPiZb-ZhogAAAwE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZQDfgtYGgcmfJPiZb-ZhogAAAwE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://sam.gov/opp/0fb99026f4474251909c31374107e76e/view
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZQDfgtYGgcmfJPiZb-ZhogAAAwE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/24/never_mind_the_concorde_nasa/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/22/usaf_lockheed_arrw_test/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/08/north_korea_hacked_russian_missilemaker/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/17/stratolaunch_midair_release/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/23/china_hypersonic_glider/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/13/extreme_networks_russian_sanctions_sales/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/06/north_korea_hypersonic_missile/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/06/darpa_hypersonic_missile/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/14/usaf_first_hypersonic_missile/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/22/usaf_lockheed_arrw_test/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/01/sandia_hypersonic_missiles/
[23] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZQDfgtYGgcmfJPiZb-ZhogAAAwE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[24] https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/hitting-a-bullet-with-a-bullet-counter-hypersonic-systems
[25] https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3498431/us-department-of-defense-and-japan-ministry-of-defense-press-release-on-the-com/
[26] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"Both China and Russia said they've tested hypersonic weapons"
Oh yeah, Russia has tested them.
It blew up on the launch pad, but they tested it !
Pebbles
Given how fast the hypersonic stuff is going, can't you "just" arrange to have a bunch of very hard "pebbles" in front of it? Ideally the pebbles are moving in an arc to maximize their interception likelihood. How about a bit of spent uranium as their core, even though that won't be viewed very well by those living below.
Ukraine
Has apparently been able to knock out some of Russia's hypersonic missiles with the US Patriot antimissile system and the Israeli equivalent. They weren't designed for that, and it doesn't work every time, but it is impressive it works at all.
Re: Ukraine
Has apparently been able to knock out some of Russia's hypersonic missiles with the US Patriot antimissile system and the Israeli equivalent. They weren't designed for that, and it doesn't work every time, but it is impressive it works at all.
They claim to have, but haven't really produced much in the way of convincing evidence, ie video and photos of something they call a Kinzhal, but almost certainly isnt. But in theory, they were designed for that, ie an ICBM on it's descent phase from low orbit is often hypersonic. But then there's a long history of disputed claims around the Patriot dating back to their success rate against Scuds during the Gulf War. Bush claimed '97%', but never trust anyone who's 97% certain without strong evidence to support that.
There were also disputed claims around testing, so the use of specially designed targets that would explode nicely. A big issue with missile defence was realised in the GW. So a SCUD with a chemical (or nuclear) warhead is on it's descent. You may poke a few holes in it, but gravity is still going to win, and the missile is coming down. If the warhead is still viable, it's still going to do damage although if a chemical warhead, that might be localised if it doesn't airburst. But this is also the other problem. Both missile and interceptors are coming down, and may cause damage to civilian buildings, as has happened in Israel, and is happening in both Ukraine and Russia's territory.
On the plus side though, I assume we're collecting a ton of performance data about these missiles, so next-gen systems might perform better. Still a wicked problem to solve given the velocities involved, and the need to kill rather than just wing an incoming missile.
Destructive Uber Bomb Mentality
The Nike anti-ICBM missile systems used up to the 1960's, whose launch pad relics can be found all around major US metropolises, were generally armed with nuclear charges of up to 30 kilotons, aiming to mitigate the destructive effect of incoming ICMB's in the final seconds before they hit their targets. Cost/effect ratio was pretty low, which was why it was abandoned.
The threat of nuclear retaliation - doomsday - was ultimately judges to be more cost effective. The problem with first strike hypersonics is that the decision to retaliate needs to be made much sooner in order to be effective, increasing the risk of error.