Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept)

Darpa is the US military’s scientific wing. It recently reported successful test results for what it calls a HAWC rocket (Hypersonic-breathing Weapon Concept).

AMERICA 

Although the US military does have a variety of hypersonic weapon programs in its Navy, Army, and Air Force branches, most are still under development and very secretive. 

However, the programs were more traditional hypersonic weapons which strike high altitudes than any orbital bombment systems which strike from space. The Chinese have been revealed to have created tis week. 

US Hypersonic weapons have never been successful tested. The Air Force’s GM-183ARRW has only recently been validated. It is intended to be fired from large-sized bomber aircraft. 

The rocket then speeds up to hypersonic speeds, reaching speeds of 15,345mph. It uses a supersonic combustion jet to hit targets within 1,000 yards. Donald Trump refered to a ‘super duper missile’ while in office and this is believed to be the AGM-183 ARRW.

Navy’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon submarine launch is scheduled to become operational in 2023. It will cover 1,725 mile.  

Darpa, the US army’s scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept) but kept details such as range, speed and payload secret. 

It uses oxygen found in the air as its fuel, marking the first successful test for that type of weapon since 2013.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA), stated that the missile built by Raytheon was launched from an aircraft seconds’ prior to Northrop Grumman’s scramjet engine. 

This engine compresses the air entering it and adds hydrocarbon fuel. It can achieve speeds up to 1,700 meters per hour, which is five times that of sound. 

Earlier this year, a test of a hypersonic missile from the U.S. Air Force was abandoned after it was unable to complete its launch sequence.  

Last March 19th, the Pentagon successfully flew test a hypersonic aircraft at its Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai (Hawaii). It declared the flight a success, and called it “a milestone toward the department’s goal to have hypersonic warfighting capabilities by the mid-2020s.”

The United States claims that it does not develop hypersonic weapons to be used with nuclear warheads, unlike Russia. The U.S. hypersonic weapon would need to be even more accurate and will face additional technical difficulties.

NASA’s 2004 experimental unmanned hypersonic airplane X-43 soared to 7,366 mph (Mach 9.6) with a scramjet motor, breaking the previous record.

DailyMail.com published a report in 2019 that Raytheon’s Northrop Grumman missile design would feature a 3-D printed engine. 

DARPA announced last year that it is working with Aerojet Rocketdyne to create a hypersonic missile interceptor capable of intercepting enemy missiles in mid-air. 

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine and has the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles

Russia has recently launched a hypersonic weapon, the Zircon from a submarine, and also owns the hypersonic, nuclear-capable Avangard missiles 

RUSSIA  

Russia launched the Zircon hypersonic missile from a submarine recently. Since late 2019, the Avangard hypersonic-capable missiles have been in service. Avangard missiles can reach Mach 27 while changing their course and altitude.  

Russia’s hypersonic weapon, the Zircon is capable of traveling 621 miles at a speed 9.800mph.

The missile, however, flies lower than the atmosphere and consumes fuel to propel itself at hypersonic speeds. This is in contrast to the Earth’s orbit. 

Earlier this month, Russia  announced it has successfully test-fired the Zircon from a nuclear submarine for the first time. 

According to Moscow defense ministry, the weapon reached a target at 6,670 mph in the Barents Sea. The missile can reach Mach-9 speeds and is capable of evading all Western defences. 

Russia claimed that it has successfully flown the missile’s new age from both a frigate (the Admiral Gorshkov) and from a coast mount. However, it was not launched previously from a submarine.

Moscow’s state-controlled TV has identified the Zircon as Vladimir Putin’s preferred weapon to eliminate coastal American cities during an atomic war.

The Russians boast that the weapon is unstoppable by Western defenses, declaring it ‘truly unique anywhere’.

Putin announced in 2018 that a new array of hypersonic weapons was being developed. He stated they could hit any place in the world, and would not need to be stopped by a missile shield. 

Next year will see the Zircon enter service. It will be first deployed by Admiral Golovko, a frigate that carries stealth technology. 

Its main purpose is the destruction of enemy ships. According to reports, its maximum range could be anywhere from 188 miles up to 620 miles.

However, there are unconfirmed reports that its actual range is approximately 1,200 miles.

Moscow has warned of foreign spy attempts to steal the secrets and kept secret design and development of this missile system.

The Sarmat is one of several hypersonic rockets Russia has deploying, along with the 188-tonne Sarmat, also known in West as Satan-2. This will be Russia’s biggest nuclear beast and it is scheduled for deployment next year.

In May, Russia said it tested three ‘invincible’ hypersonic ‘Satan 2’ missiles that some have said could wipe out areas the size of England and Wales. 

China launched the dummy weapon into space on board a Long March 2C rocket (pictured) during a test in mid-August which it did not disclose at the time and was only revealed at the weekend by security analysts assigned to work out its purpose

China’s dummy weapon was launched into space by a Long March 2C Rocket (pictured). It was part of a mid-August test that China did not reveal at the time. The information was finally revealed this weekend by the security experts who had been assigned to determine its purpose.

CHINA 

China test-fired its hypersonic orbital bombardment device in August. It reportedly can reach speeds of up to 21,000 mph, and it strikes from outer space.  

China’s “new” weapon’s core idea – to launch a warhead in orbit, then have it circle the earth before striking a target – was developed first by the Soviets during the 1960s. 

Called a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, or FOBS, it was developed to evade powerful US radar arrays and missile defence systems.

They work by detecting ICBM launches, which are very long-range missiles capable of being tipped with nuclear weapons. Once they’re detected in space, they track their trajectory and fire at warheads to knock them out of orbit.

It is possible due to the predictable trajectory of ICBMs (and their warheads) that rises into space – which makes them very easy to spot. Defence crews can calculate where they will be aimed in order to shoot them out of sight. 

FOBS seeks to overcome these defences and fire their warheads on a flatter trajectory, supported by Earth’s gravity. 

These warheads are not detected by radar detector arrays so they can be tracked more easily. This makes it harder for warheads to be shot down, as their trajectory can’t always be calculated.  

Use of orbit increases a warhead’s range to potentially infinite. This means it can be shot at any target, from anywhere. This allows for avoiding Radar systems that point to a specific spot in the sky, such as America’s North Pole.

Meanwhile, China  has also unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometres and can carry nuclear warheads.

In October, China deployed the DF 17 missile to coastal areas in preparation for a possible invasion of Taiwan.  

According to reports, the weapon can travel a maximum distance of 2,560 km (1,550 miles), and it is capable of reaching speeds up to 7,680 mph (12,360 kph), which is 10 times faster than sound speed, while carrying a nuclear bombhead.

It is considered a “death sentence” for aircraft carriers operating within its range.

Hypersonic missiles are capable of traveling at speeds up to five times that of sound in upper atmosphere (or 6,200 km/h (3,850 miles). While this is slower than an intercontinental bombistic missile, hypersonic aircraft can maneuver towards a target and away from its defenses.

A combination of a glider vehicle and a missile capable of launching it partly into orbit, a fractional orbital bombing system (FOBS), could be used to deprive adversaries both in terms traditional defenses as well as reaction time.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) are able to carry nuclear warheads using ballistic trajectories. They travel into space, but do not reach orbit. 

China argued Monday that the August test was routine for a spacecraft and not a missile.