<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > Lockheed Martin presented a new image of the OpFires hypersonic missile system</h1>
Since Britain exploded a country to test-fire a revolutionary spacecraft, the United States has been impatient to leak superb new images. Recently, Lockheed Martin of the United States showed a new computer image showing the development of a hypersonic weapon system - OpFires. Unfortunately, it is only an rendering, not a real combat launch map, and the mature system will wait about ten years.
At present, the United States is working on several different grades of hypersonic missile systems at the same time, including some ground systems. As part of one of these projects, Lockheed Martin and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are developing a ground-based missile system that equips the U.S. Army with a hypersonic glider.
Development of the missile began in 2017. The initial goal was to establish a hypersonic complex with a range of up to 500 km so that it would not fall within the scope of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Missiles. However, after the United States withdraws from the "INF Treaty," the range of the missile may be expanded, supposedly reaching 1,600 kilometers.
As part of the OpFires project commissioned by the Pentagon, the hypersonic glide tactical missile system has a maximum range of 1600 kilometers, according to Breakthrough Defense magazine.
According to the renderings, opFire is planned to be placed on a five-axle multi-purpose chassis. The launcher will carry three supersonic gliding missiles. The AGM-183A ARRW air-launched missile is planned as a warhead.
According to DARPA's plan, projects to be completed should be considered by the end of the year, after which the assembly of prototypes will begin. Flight tests of the missile are scheduled to begin in 2022, but it won't be until 2030 to receive a full-fledged system and then finalize it.
The Opfires system is a revolutionary project for the active development of Lockheed Martin and DARPA, in which there are two key technologies: the so-called "throttleable rocket engine" - a guided rocket engine ... What seems wrong with that?
It is a solid fuel that can be adjusted both in size according to the desired thrust control and even turned off it completely...
Now, 3 U.S. rocket companies are launching tests on their engines.
By 2023, the United States plans to begin industrial production of those already approved by the U.S. Army: long-range supersonic weapons – LRHW – up to 2800 km. Short- and medium-range ballistic missiles - MRC - up to 1800 km. Wheeled modular launcher for launching Tomahawk missiles (1000 miles) and updated SM-6-1B (500 miles)
LRHW
Recall why the Americans are so furious about publishing OpFires computer renderings, because the U.S. military really lags behind the two major powers in the development of hypersonic weapons. Now, two countries in the world have multiple models of mature hypersonic missiles, and some have long been equipped with front-line troops, water-drifting ballistics, which can strike aircraft carriers thousands of miles away. Some of the great powers, in July and August this year, test-fired the world's revolutionary hypersonic water drift ballistic spacecraft, can release multiple aircraft in the middle of the way, over the atmosphere outside the water drift, improve the range, the range of more than 16,000 kilometers, can launch attacks from the South Pole.
project. As for Russia, it has been unveiled in a few years that Ahagad, Vanguard, Kinzal, and anti-ship zircon hypersonic missiles are dazzling. 、
Finally, it is important to note that this is a hypersonic event race, not supersonic. Hypersonic refers to at least five times the speed of sound, usually to reach 10 times the speed of sound, fast and accurate, and currently neither Aegis nor THAAD or Standard 6 missiles can intercept.
It will take another ten years to produce results, and the United States can only say that it is defeated in the competition of superb projects!