The discontinuation of the AGM-183A air-launched hypersonic weapon project has allowed the world to see the "inadequacy" of the US military industry, especially in the field of hypersonic weapons industry. It is obvious that China is already indisputably ahead of the United States, the world's only "superpower", when it comes to hypersonic weapons, which represent the direction of development of missile-class weapons. But is that enough for us? The answer is clearly no. I believe that no one will doubt that the United States is still a world-class military industrial power, and although it has been temporarily blocked in the hypersonic weapons program, the problem is more technical than conceptual. It is no exaggeration to say that the United States has taken the pulse of the direction of hypersonic weapons quite accurately, and we must not easily let our guard down.
"Mako" air-launched hypersonic weapon
According to the authoritative US defense media "Navy News" website, Lockheed Martin recently unveiled a "multi-mission hypersonic missile" called "Mako". According to reports, the maximum flight speed of the missile is more than Mach 5, the range is about 300~350 kilometers, and it can be used not only to strike surface ships, but also to destroy targets such as enemy land air defense systems and radar stations. Most notably, the Mako is an order of magnitude smaller than the AGM-183A, an air-launched hypersonic weapon previously owned by the company, and can be carried and launched by tactical aircraft such as the F-35, F-15 and F-16, rather than by larger aircraft such as bombers like the AGM-183A.
The F-35 can carry 6 "Makos" both internally and externally
Not only that, compared with the Russian-made air-launched hypersonic weapon that can also be launched by the tactical aircraft MiG-31K, that is, the "Dagger", the "Mako" is also more compact and exquisite, after all, the MiG-31K can only carry 1 "Dagger" into the air on the belly pylon, and can only hit one target at a time. Judging from the schematic diagram released by the Luo Ma company, the F-35 can carry 2 "Mako" in the bomb bay of the aircraft, and then carry 4 ammunition of the same type in the form of external mounting, which proves that "Mako" is a typical small and lightweight hypersonic weapon, which can allow the carrier aircraft to hit multiple targets at the same time.
The shape of "Mako" is quite unique
Interestingly, unlike the two more common hypersonic weapon configurations, the bipyramidal configuration and the waverider glide configuration, the Mako's appearance seems to be different from both technological paths. It is not yet known how the missile will achieve hypersonic flight capabilities, and Loma has not given further descriptions.
AGM-183A air-launched hypersonic weapon launched by a bomber
However, it must be admitted that miniaturization and lightweight are indeed one of the development directions of air-launched hypersonic weapons, and only in this way can we expand as many carrier aircraft platforms that can use such munitions as possible, after all, tactical aircraft such as fighters, fighter-bombers and attack aircraft are the main battle equipment with the largest number of air forces in various countries. If almost all tactical aircraft can be equipped with the ability to use hypersonic weapons, it is bound to bring about a qualitative leap in the combat strength of a country's air force. From this point of view, although the hypersonic weapon technology of the United States is not enough, and even today has not launched even a practical model, but its understanding and cognition of such weapons, especially the prediction of the future development direction, is still quite vicious.
Hypersonic weapons mounted under the wing of the H-6
Thinking about it this way, the emergence of "Mako" may also be a wake-up call for China. It is true that China is also developing air-launched hypersonic weapons in China, and there is already more than one model that can be carried and launched by H-6 series bombers. However, compared with several thousand tactical aircraft of various types, the number of equipment of the H-6 is obviously only one-tenth to one-tenth of the former. If we want the PLA Aviation Force to further improve its hypersonic strike capability, it is also necessary to develop small hypersonic weapons that can be used by tactical aircraft such as the J-20, J-35, J-16, J-11, J-10C and J-7.
China cannot stop its development
Today, China is ahead of the United States in the field of hypersonic weapons, but we must not be easily complacent, but should seize this precious opportunity and time difference to continue to exert force, and strive to expand this leading advantage. When it comes to miniaturization and lightweighting of air-launched hypersonic weapons, it's time for China to do something.