One of the most effective promising types of weapons is considered to be missile systems with a hypersonic gliding warhead. Simultaneously with other countries, research in this area is being conducted by the United States. In the foreseeable future, they intend to create and adopt a complex under the designation HWS. Not so long ago, some details of current and future work have become known.
Data leaks and statements
It is no secret that the United States is actively developing the hypersonic direction and testing experimental equipment of this kind. Last fall, the media learned from unnamed sources about the latest plans of the Pentagon in this area. Then it was proposed to abandon the parallel development of their own missile systems for different types of troops. A unified system should have been created for the army, air force and navy. Differing in some of the elements, three complexes for different types of troops could use a common warhead.
Until recently, there were only various rumors, versions and unconfirmed information about the new project. The situation has changed recently. On May 24, at a conference of the US Army Association, the head of the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO), Lieutenant General Neil Thurgood, made a presentation in which he first announced part of the data on the new project.
On June 4, General Turgud held a meeting with journalists, and the main topic of the event was precisely the promising project of a hypersonic missile system. In addition, other promising weapons systems were discussed. The statements of the head of the RCCTO complement the well-known picture and correct the general understanding of the further development of promising American systems.
HWS program
In May, General N. Thurgood revealed the general appearance of the Hypersonic Weapons System (HWS) missile system, intended for the ground forces. At the same time, the published data partially open the veil of secrecy over two other similar systems for the Air Force and the Navy. So far, the HWS project is at the design stage, but tests are planned to begin in 2021.
The main element of the HWS complex will be a unified planning warhead Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB). This product is being developed at Sandia National Laboratory with the assistance of the Missile Defense Agency. As part of the HWS army complex, such a unit will be used in conjunction with the All-Up-Round (AUR) booster missile. The complex will also include a set of ground vehicles mounted on standard automobile chassis.
The current HWS / C-HGB project is based on developments from the AHW pilot program. In the past, hypersonic vehicles of this type have been successfully tested and showed high performance. There is reason to believe that the C-HGB warhead is constructively based on AHW, and the AUR rocket will represent a redesigned carrier of the latter.
It is curious that the strike system in the form of C-HGB and AUR will be used not only by the army, but also by the navy. The Navy wants to get the most unified missile system, which will differ from the ground one only in launchers and control devices. For the Navy, they will develop their own installations of two types - for surface ships and submarines.
The AUR missile with the C-HGB block will be supplied to the army in transport and launch containers about 10 m long. Two TPKs will be mounted on a self-propelled launcher based on a wheeled semi-trailer. The performance characteristics of the missile and its warhead were not disclosed.
Tests of the HWS complex are planned to begin in 2021. Test launches will be carried out at intervals of several months. Already in 2023, it is planned to start mass production and start delivering ready-made systems to the troops. The new vehicles will be delivered to units such as Strategic Fires Battalion.
Administrative issues
In early June, Lieutenant General Turgud specified exactly how the development of the new project would be carried out and how soon full-fledged development work would start. He also revealed the features of the future service of the HWS army complex.
The solution of various tasks within the framework of the program is assigned to different departments. So, the development of a unified C-HGB block will go under the supervision of the RCCTO and the corresponding structures of the naval forces. Production will be controlled by the army. The Air Force will not be significantly involved in the coming phases of the program.
In March, the RCCTO held a meeting with representatives of the defense industry, during which they discussed the creation of the HWS and C-HGB. The Pentagon has analyzed the proposals of various organizations and has already selected a contractor who will provide development and production. Negotiations on a future contract are currently underway. The winner of the tender will be officially announced only in August.
HWS complexes will serve as part of a battery. The latter will include four self-propelled launchers with two missiles each, as well as a self-propelled command post. The batteries will be reduced to battalions of strategic fire impact, attached to one or another of the larger structures.
Subdivisions of the Strategic Fires Battalion in the future will have to work out a lot of issues in the context of the organization and use of promising hypersonic systems. It is necessary to check all stages of operation, personnel training, etc. in real service conditions. Only after all these issues are resolved will HWS become a full-fledged element of the army, capable of performing the assigned tasks.
Dates and projects
As far as is known, tests under the AHW program have been carried out since the beginning of this decade and have been completed successfully. The AHW hypersonic device was created exclusively for research purposes and was not intended for direct implementation in the army. However, this project became the basis for the newly developed C-HGB.
Thus, the bulk of research and testing has already been carried out, and the necessary technologies have also been found. All this allows the Pentagon to undertake the development of a full-fledged combat missile system with a fundamentally new warhead. In addition, the accumulated experience allows us to accelerate the development of the HWS complex. It is quite possible that American engineers will simply modify the AHW experimental apparatus and equip it with the components necessary for solving combat missions.
To date, the US Army has selected the contractor to handle the bulk of the HWS / C-HGB. The first tests are planned to be carried out in 2021. Thus, about two years remain for design work - a short time for such a complex project. It will also take about two years to test the complex for the army, and it is planned to put it into service in 2023.
Such plans may seem overly optimistic. However, they can be based on a full-fledged calculation based on the results of the previous experimental program HWS. Thus, it should not be ruled out that in 2021-23. The United States will indeed be able to test at least individual components of the HWS missile system.
It should be noted that so far we are talking only about promising weapons for the ground forces, which can be further developed for use in the Navy. According to known data, the fleet wants to get a complex that is as similar as possible to the land one, but equipped with other launching means. This allows us to assume that the naval version of the HWS / C-HGB will appear not earlier than the completion of work on the basic land.
The Air Force, for obvious reasons, needs its own launch vehicle for the C-HGB warhead. There is no information yet on such weapons. When she will appear is unknown. Probably, the hypersonic complex for the Air Force will not be created earlier than the naval system. Information about him, respectively, will be published later.
A controversial future
The latest news on the development of the American hypersonic program can be considered cause for concern. The United States has completed the necessary research and is now starting the process of creating a full-fledged weapon. It is planned to spend only a few years on its development and implementation, and in this case, by the mid-twenties, the Pentagon will have fundamentally new means of first or retaliatory strike.
The emergence of new weapons suitable for solving strategic tasks is already a cause for concern. In the context of HWS, it should also be remembered about the characteristic features of the current hypersonic warheads, which turn out to be an additional challenge to the security of third countries. States that are likely to oppose the United States should be aware of the latest news and take the necessary action. There is still plenty of time to find answers to HWS and other similar systems.
