Hypersonic weapons are a very vague term. To begin with, it should be said that the division of aircraft into "subsonic", "supersonic" and "hypersonic" itself has a solid physical basis in the form of the level of interaction of such vehicles with the air environment. At the same time, there is confusion: the old Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile R-36M and the new Russian aeroballistic missile "Dagger" can be called "hypersonic weapons".
You can try to simplify the situation. A true hypersonic weapon is characterized not only by the ability to maintain a speed of about Mach 5 for a long time, but also (and this is even more important) by the ability to perform a controlled flight at this speed and effectively aim at a target. To put it very simply, the modern complex of hypersonic weapons resembles an unmanned suicide aircraft: very fast and extremely destructive.
One of these systems was recently presented to the public. In late May, the blog of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies bmpd drew attention to new data on American hypersonic weapons, which could dramatically increase the combat potential of the US Ground Forces. Army Moves Out On Lasers, Hypersonics: Lt. Gen. Thurgood, published on Breaking Defense, quoted US Army Accelerated Development and Critical Technologies Chief Lieutenant General Neil Thurgood speaking at the US Army Association conference in Honolulu in May this year.
According to bmpd, for the first time the general public learned about what exactly a promising hypersonic weapon for the US Army would be. We are talking about a ground-based complex under the uncomplicated name of the Hypersonic Weapons System. In short, it will be a mobile complex, which can be very conditionally compared with the 5P85TE2 transport and launcher for the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system. Of course, purely outwardly, since the systems are, to put it mildly, different by purpose. From the point of view of a possible strategy for using the Hypersonic Weapons System, it is perhaps most convenient to draw a parallel with the Iskander operational-tactical complex. But, again, the new American system is far from analogous to the Soviet complex with quasi-ballistic missiles.
From the side of the Hypersonic Weapons System, it will be a two-container complex towed by an Oshkosh M983A4 tractor - a large eight-wheeled vehicle that many have probably seen. The core of the entire concept is the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), a multifunctional highly maneuverable gliding hypersonic warhead, which is currently being designed by the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories for the US Army, Air Force and Navy. Experts from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Agency are also taking part in the research.
In the version for the US Ground Forces, the Block 1 C-HGB hypersonic warheads want to be placed on the All-Up-Round (AUP) universal solid-fuel missiles, which are also being worked on by Sandia National Laboratories.
According to experts, the C-HGB warhead can be created on the basis of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) warhead, capable of developing a speed of Mach 8 and has already proven this during tests. At the same time, the All-Up-Round rocket, too, may be built on the basis of the rocket, which was used as part of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon tests. In general, the issues of unification traditionally strongly influence the development priorities of the US military systems. And this case is no exception. In addition to the "legacy" with the AHW project, it is also known that for the C-HGB they intend to use the standard American fire control system for missile forces and artillery AFATDS in version 7.0. At the same time, the semi-trailer of the launcher is likely a modified semi-trailer from the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.
System characteristics
Based on the AHW's range of almost 7,000 kilometers, experts conclude that the range of the Hypersonic Weapons System could be something like this. On the other hand, some unofficial sources point to 6000, and possibly 5000 kilometers. Neil Thurgood himself noted that “this platform of weapons (Hypersonic Weapons System - topwar) is not long-range artillery. It is a strategic weapon that leaders can use at a strategic level.”
Presumably, we will learn more detailed information after the start of system tests, which are scheduled for 2021 with test launches about once every six months. It should be especially noted that in the first half of the 2020s, the US military plans to deploy the first Hypersonic Weapons System. These plans, of course, look too ambitious, but in any case, the complex will become a headache for the opponents of the United States, since even the most advanced anti-aircraft missile systems may be completely useless to intercept a hypersonic maneuvering unit.
Hypersonic flight to nowhere?
But the Hypersonic Weapons System is unlikely to become the "ultimate" weapon system. It is worth mentioning immediately the technical difficulties arising in the creation of hypersonic weapons, which are also known to everyone for a long time. First of all, it is an extremely difficult task to ensure the effective operation of the guidance system under conditions of a hypersonic flight of an object and, accordingly, ultra-high temperatures.
But let's say the Americans have solved these problems. What's next? The niche for which such a weapon claims is not yet fully understood. We can say with a high degree of probability that the use of the Hypersonic Weapons System against Russia or, for example, China, will be perceived by them as a signal of the beginning of a "big" war, where the usual strategic weapons will be the first violin. These are primarily intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine ballistic missiles. For them, the Common Hypersonic Glide Body is not a competitor. Regardless of the warhead, such a weapon will not soon replace the usual "nuclear club" with its colossal throwable mass and range, which can reach twelve thousand kilometers.
At the same time, judging from purely tactical considerations and considering it from the realities of modern local wars, the system is seen as unnecessarily complicated and expensive. The Americans have long relied on relatively cheap JDAM aircraft bombs or the latest SDBs for hitting point targets on the ground. And the use of cruise missiles such as the JASSM, if it makes sense, is only as a demonstration of force or to destroy the highest priority targets.
In this regard, hypersonic aircraft, such as the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, are seen primarily as the "long arm" of the fleet, allowing them to reach enemy ships bypassing their defense systems. Whether such a complex is needed by the ground forces is rather difficult to say.
