Recently, the topic of "superweapons" has repeatedly slipped into the speeches of US President Donald Trump. It is difficult to say what this is connected with: with economic problems and the possibility of impeachment of the US President himself, or with the real appearance of breakthrough weapons. Let's try to figure out what's what.
It is necessary to immediately make a reservation: the author does not have access to secret intelligence information, so it will not work to talk about the "black" programs of the US Department of Defense, all assumptions are based on open source data.
Shock from under the water
"We are creating submarines that no one could even imagine", - noted the American leader, expressing the hope that the United States will never have to use them.
What can be discussed in this statement of Donald Trump? In the United States, a new SSBN (nuclear missile and ballistic submarine) of the Columbia type is being developed. However, the commissioning of the Columbia-class lead boat is planned only in 2031.
Much closer to commissioning are the Virginia-type "Block V" multipurpose nuclear submarines. It would seem that the Virginia nuclear submarine can hardly be classified as a "superweapon" - it is an ordinary, albeit very perfect, multipurpose nuclear submarine, but there is one caveat.
Starting with the Block V modification, the Virginia nuclear submarine will be equipped with an additional 21-meter VPM (Virginia Payload Module) armament bay, which includes four vertical silos that can accommodate 28 Tomahawk cruise missiles or other weapons and special equipment. which fits into the dimensions of the compartments.
Among the weapons that can be deployed on the Virginia Block V nuclear submarine are promising missiles created under the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program, equipped with the Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), a guided planning hypersonic warhead under development US Department of Energy Sandia National Laboratories, with the participation of the US Missile Defense Agency.
In the tests of the C-HGB, a speed of Mach 8 was achieved. According to various estimates, the range of the C-HGB can be on the order of 3000-6000 kilometers. The VPM will receive at least nine Virginia-class nuclear submarines "Block V". Located in the ocean, in strategically important regions, the V-Block Virginia-class nuclear submarines equipped with CPS missiles with C-HGB guided gliding hypersonic warheads could become an important element of the Prompt Global Strike system, which implies the ability of the armed forces The United States, within an hour, strike at a target with a non-nuclear weapon anywhere in the world. It is likely that by "inconceivable submarine" the US President meant precisely the Virginia block V submarine with CPS hypersonic weapons.
The Russian response to the Virginia Block V submarine with hypersonic weapons is the Project 885 (M) Severodvinsk multipurpose nuclear powered submarine with Zircon complex hypersonic missiles. Compared to the American project, the Severodvinsk + Zircon link will have a shorter range - approximately 500-1000 kilometers versus the estimated 3000-6000 for the Virginia nuclear submarine “Block V” + CPS at a comparable speed. Presumably, the Zircon missile can outperform the CPS project due to the presence of a ramjet engine (ramjet) on the Zircon, the use of which will give the rocket more power and the ability to actively maneuver along the trajectory. However, due to the secrecy surrounding the project, it is impossible to completely exclude the version that the Zircon is also a solid-propellant rocket equipped with a guided gliding hypersonic unit.
Air strike
“I call it a super-super-rocket. And I heard that it is seventeen times faster than what we have now, if we compare the fastest rocket that is currently available."
(US President Donald Trump.)
As for the "super-super-missile", the opinion of experts is almost unambiguous: it is an AGM-183A hypersonic air-launched missile of the ARRW project (Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon). The estimated speed of the AGM-183A should be about Mach 17-20, the flight range should be about 800-1000 kilometers.
The AGM-183A airborne hypersonic missile is a cross between the Russian Dagger and Avangard complexes - a controlled hypersonic gliding unit is installed on a solid-propellant jet rocket. The launch mass of the rocket is about 3-3, 5 tons. Thus, the dimensions and weight of the AGM-183A are significantly less than that of the rocket created under the CPS program, respectively, and the guided gliding hypersonic unit and the AGM-183A missile are significantly less than the C-HGB.
The B-1B supersonic bomber, which can carry 31 AGM-183A missiles, is primarily considered as the carrier of the AGM-183A. Complex bomber B-1B + missile AGM-183A will pose a serious threat to any enemy.
A direct and symmetrical Russian response to the B-1B bomber complex + AGM-183A missile can be equipping the Tu-160M strategic bomber with a hypersonic missile of the Dagger complex, and in the future with a hypersonic missile of the Zircon complex.
In the future, it is planned to place the AGM-183A missile on other carriers: the F-15E / EX Strike Eagle tactical aircraft, the B-52H bomber, and, of course, on the newest strategic bomber B-21 Raider, which is planned to be adopted by 2025-2030. year.
Strike from space
“Soon we will land on Mars, and we will have the greatest weapons in history. I've already seen the development, even I can't believe it."
"You can't be number one on Earth if you are number two in space."
(From a speech by U. S. President Donald Trump on May 30, 2020, after the launch of the manned spacecraft Crew Dragon.)
One cannot but agree with this phrase. If there is no global catastrophe, world nuclear war or other crisis of a comparable scale, then in the 21st century humanity will significantly increase its presence in space. SpaceX's BFR super-heavy reusable launch vehicle (LV) could become the cornerstone of this process. And if Elon Musk's plans to reduce the cost of launching cargo into orbit by 1-2 orders of magnitude come true, this will revolutionize space exploration, and saturation of outer space with shock systems for various purposes will be inevitable.
However, it is far from a fact that the American president had in mind any weapon based on the BFR launch vehicle (although this cannot be completely ruled out either), since at the moment there is no 100% certainty that the BFR project will be implemented: in the event Due to serious technical difficulties, Musk may abandon the BFR launch vehicle and continue to slowly improve his "workhorse" of the Falcon launch vehicle, including the Falcon Heavy version, as well as the Dragon spacecraft in the cargo and manned versions.
It cannot be ruled out that the possibility of placing a payload into orbit at a reduced cost offered by SpaceX has already spurred the US military to accelerate the development of space-to-space and space-to-surface weapons. SpaceX representatives have repeatedly declared their readiness to participate in the US space defense programs.
"SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell announced during the US Air Force's annual press conference that the company is ready to participate in the deployment of weapons in space to protect the United States."
Do not forget about the American unmanned spacecraft Boeing X-37, the launch of which into orbit is possible (and carried out), including with the help of SpaceX's Falcon launch vehicle. The US has two Boeing X-37B spacecraft built for the US Air Force. A distinctive feature of the Boeing X-37B is the ability to stay in orbit for a long time autonomously - currently the maximum flight duration of the Boeing X-37B is 780 days.
Another important feature of the Boeing X-37B is its ability to maneuver and vigorously change its orbit in an altitude range of 200-750 kilometers. The sealed cargo compartment of the Boeing X-37B measuring 2, 1x1, 2 meters can accommodate 900 kilograms of payload.
Can strike weapons be placed on the Boeing X-37B? The dimensions of the cargo compartment of the Boeing X-37B fully allow the placement of a controlled gliding hypersonic warhead C-HGB. The mass of the C-HGB should be just somewhere in the region of a ton. Even less should be the mass of the controlled gliding hypersonic warhead AGM-183A - about 500 kilograms, taking into account that the entire AGM-183A rocket should weigh about 3-3, 5 tons.
Thus, theoretically, the Boeing X-37B may well carry one controlled gliding hypersonic warhead and strike them from the lowest point of its trajectory from an altitude of about 200 kilometers. The undoubtedly controlled gliding hypersonic warhead should be modified with a compartment for preliminary orientation in space and for vault from orbit, but this will clearly be easier than building orbital strike platforms of the "Wands of God" type from scratch.
Improvements to the controlled gliding hypersonic warhead may require more cargo space than the X-37B can provide, but in this case, Boeing may return to the project of an enlarged X-37C spaceplane, the dimensions of which were supposed to be 165-180% of the dimensions of the X-37B. The launch of the X-37C into orbit may well be carried out by the Falcon Heavy LV.
Considering that most of the elements of the Falcon 9 + X-37B or Falcon Heavy + X-37C bundle are reusable, this method of deploying space-to-surface weapons can be economically the least costly until the appearance of the BFR launch vehicle.
The X-37B / C spaceplane can carry out continuous duty in orbit for two years, with a subsequent return to carry out maintenance of the carrier itself and its payload. In addition, the X-37B / C's ability to maneuver and change orbit can help it evade anti-satellite weapons launched from the surface.
Do you even need a space-to-surface weapon? After all, a quick global strike may well be delivered using non-nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or guided gliding hypersonic warheads launched from multipurpose nuclear submarines, strategic bombers or ground platforms.
It is necessary and extremely important. Space weapons are just beginning their journey. In terms of development, they are like the first tanks, the plane of the Wright brothers or the first jet "ugly ducklings". And the one who will dominate in the field of space weapons will dominate the surface of the planet. It will be impossible to win a large-scale conflict without gaining superiority or at least the ability to ensure parity in space - only limited irregular conflicts
With regard to the current situation, the placement of controlled gliding hypersonic warheads on a maneuverable orbital carrier will make it possible to deliver sudden, difficult-to-predict strikes. Contrary to popular belief, no country in the world has continuous round-the-clock control of outer space around the planet.
Orbital strike platforms can be used as first-strike weapons for engaging critical targets. The delivery of hypersonic weapons by aviation takes a lot of time, the launch of a ballistic missile with a guided gliding hypersonic warhead is likely to be seen from orbit by missile attack warning satellites, the grouping of which, as part of the four Tundra satellites, seems to have already been deployed by the Russian armed forces.
At the same time, it is far from a fact that, even knowing the location of the space carrier in orbit, it will be possible to notice the release of a controlled gliding hypersonic warhead, made using low-visibility technologies. In outer space, the cloak can be optimized to minimize the effective scattering surface without taking into account the requirements of aerodynamics, and after entering the dense layers of the atmosphere, the cloak will burn out, exposing the heat shield, optimized from the point of view of aerodynamics.
As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, without access to classified data of the US armed forces, it is possible to speculate on what the US president meant “the greatest weapons in history” only with a high degree of assumptions. However, let us recall the phrase of Donald Trump: "I have already seen the development, even I cannot believe it." Perhaps the emergence of the American "superweapon" will not be long.
