College of Military and Political Basic Education, National University of Defense Technology, Zeng Weiyi, Huang Songnan, Liu Peishi
US Air Force pilots inspect new missiles
[Work on American airborne hypersonic missiles has never stopped, to date, part of the design work has been completed, others are underway.] The U.S. Air Force demonstrated the results of its development of a new hypersonic missile to representatives of several Air Force units of Global Strike Command and Air Combat Command, according to the press service of the U.S. Air Force's 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Sept. 29, 2023. What are the advantages and characteristics of this so-called future missile, and what kind of development prospects and applications will this missile get?
A long and bumpy development process
With regard to the development of hypersonic weapons, the US military has earlier formed a situation in which the Pentagon takes the lead and the three armed services develop them separately. Among them, the US Air Force's AGM-183A hypersonic missile (ARRW) was given high hopes to become the first hypersonic weapon in US history to offset the asymmetric combat advantage brought by the Russian "Dagger" hypersonic missile. However, its development process was not smooth, and in 2021, it experienced a "three consecutive defeats" in the test launch, which was questioned by the high-level of the United States. The failure of the project is a blow to the Pentagon's hypersonic weapons deployment program, because the failure of the project means that the United States has fallen behind Russia and China in the development of hypersonic weapons. As a result, the US Air Force has reduced its focus on the ARRW project in favor of the Raytheon "Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile" (HACM) project.
AGM-183A hypersonic missile (ARRW) for the US Air Force
Focus on whether Thor can bring new opportunities
In 2021-22, the United States carried out the necessary preliminary activities, allocated funds, and launched the competitive development of hypersonic missiles, in which all major US military companies participated. In September 2022, the military announced the winner of the HACM competition – Raytheon. Now Raytheon is working on the project, in which the propulsion system will be manufactured in conjunction with Northrop Grumman. The design work contract is estimated to be worth $985 million.
Raytheon's HAWK test vehicle.
According to recent reports, the HACM program is progressing well, and customers and project implementers are now ready to present the program to Air Force personnel. At the moment they have shown a model of HACM to tactical and strategic aviation pilots, as well as a description of the development.
The HACM missile designed by Raytheon can be used on several carrier-based aircraft at the same time, and both long-range and tactical aviation will be equipped with this missile. The lightest carrier aircraft of the hypersonic product will be the modernized F-15E / EX fighter. It can carry multiple missiles. In addition, HACM will also be part of the arsenal of B-1B and B-52H strategic bombers. The appearance of the future HACM product and its tactical and technical characteristics have not yet been disclosed, but Raytheon recently unveiled various concepts that allow partial assumptions to be made about the basic parameters of the missile. Although the size and mass have not yet been determined, it can be assumed that the maximum payload will not exceed 10.4 tons, and based on other data and assumptions, the fighter can carry several HACM missile products at the same time. Depending on the model and loading, strategic bombers can launch about 20 such missiles.
Possible appearance of the HACM missile warhead
Judging by part of the model presented, the HACM is a two-stage rocket. It has a cylindrical end with stabilizers and rudders, and uses a solid-propellant engine to reach a certain speed and altitude. When the engine runs out of fuel, the rocket class is abandoned. The combat part of the HACM is a self-contained aircraft. Its shape is characteristic, with different curvatures on the upper and lower surfaces, connected by pronounced lateral edges. Assuming that the design of the HACM is based on the developments of the HAWK program, then the missile will have a hypersonic direct-flow jet engine. The positioning of the HACM product is hypersonic, which means that it will fly at a speed of at least 5-6 m. This product is planned to be used to arm strategic missile carriers with a range of up to hundreds or thousands of kilometers. In addition, the guidance method of the missile is questionable. HACM can use satellite and inertial navigation like other cruise missiles, but the possibility of using a full-fledged cruise system is not excluded, which, if used, would greatly increase accuracy. The relevant combat equipment is also unclear, and it is speculated that it is likely to use conventional warheads to enhance the overall power of the missile through kinetic energy.
The advantages are obvious, where is the way forward
For the first time, the United States has developed a tiny-sized hypersonic missile compatible with tactical aircraft. This means that not only long-range bombers can take advantage of all the advantages of this weapon, but also ground systems. The advantage of hypersonic missiles is well known, that is, the use of the maximum flight speed greatly reduces the flight time from the launch point to the target, making it more difficult for the enemy to detect, react and intercept in time, and improving the effectiveness of strikes. In addition, exceeding the speed of sound can also increase the flight range, and hypersonic missiles have high kinetic energy in flight, which makes it possible to abandon the conventional warhead and enhance its impact on the target. In addition, the ability to break through obstacles, etc., has also been improved.
According to an article published on the website of the American magazine Popular Mechanics, hypersonic weapons can fly long distances in a very short period of time, compress the opponent's reaction time, and attack targets more quickly, especially those fleeting "time-sensitive targets". These weapons can also change course irregularly and reassign tasks in flight, which means that it is extremely difficult to intercept hypersonic missiles. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Commovis, a weapons expert in the US Air Force, stressed the need to develop and deploy hypersonic weapons in the short term and lay the foundation for their practical application.
All in all, in order to cope with the asymmetric combat advantages brought by hypersonic weapons to other countries, the United States, after experiencing the failure of ARRW's research and development, jointly with Raytheon, began to study the HACM missile and achieved good development, with obvious advantages, ultra-high speed, high power, and difficult to intercept. If it is successfully developed and installed in parallel with the troops, it will greatly enhance the combat capability of US precision-guided weapons.