To date, the most realistic image of the Zircon remains a snapshot of the experimental hypersonic vehicle X-51A Waveraider.
It is the photograph of the "Waverrider" under the wing of the carrier (B-52) that is issued in the domestic media as the newest hypersonic missile of the Russian Navy. The editors are not embarrassed either by the English-language source, or even by the presence of the Air Force Research, Boeing and DARPA emblems on the side surface of the aircraft's fuselage. However, as we have seen in the light of recent events, you can simply attach screenshots from the game. The main thing is entertainment. Out of solidarity with the workers of the pen and keyboard, we had to erase the name of the source in which this misunderstanding was published.
Unlike the superheroes of computer games, the Waverrider exists on this side of the screen. The device was created in the framework of the concept of "rapid global strike" aimed at reducing the flight time of cruise missiles. Judging by the latest news of the program, i.e. silence for 5 years, the next "hypersonic experiment" went to the Air Force Museum.
In general, the X-51A project somehow suspiciously stalled.
The reasons for the suspension of research can be guessed based on the known difficulties associated with aerodynamic flights at a speed of 5M. The first on the list is the inevitable “heat barrier”, ready to incinerate the daredevils who defied speed:
On its last flight, in May 2013, the Waverider stayed hypersonic for about six minutes, setting a record for hypersonic aircraft with a ramjet engine (ramjet). During this time, the model was able to develop a speed corresponding to the Mach number 5, 1, and flew over the Pacific Ocean a distance of 426 km.
Why do I say "model"? Because the "Waverrider" was not even the prototype of a weapon in the usual sense of the word. Its layout, in principle, excluded the presence of a warhead or guidance systems with which modern cruise missiles are equipped. A small-sized (length without an accelerator - 4 m) radio-controlled model resembling a chisel in shape. The only task for the "Waverrider" was to gain 5M and hold out at this speed for at least a couple of minutes.
What is the obvious conclusion from the test results? The existing technologies are clearly not enough to translate into reality the tale of "hypersonic weapons".
Another well-known project, the little X-43, was briskly accelerated to nine speeds of sound due to the 20-tonne solid-propellant Pegasus launch vehicle. After that, his own ramjet engine was launched.
After separation from the booster block, the fiery extravaganza lasted for another 11 seconds, and then the charred debris of the Kh-43A fell into the ocean. Just two launches, a world speed record for an aircraft in the atmosphere, incredible 9.6 M. At least a second for a dream!
The record has remained a record. Judging by the 13-year break, the X-43 program has shown very great prospects.
Accelerate and get charred
That's all that modern technology in the field of hypersound allows.
We are talking about flights in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20-30 km using aerodynamic principles of flight. Those. when using bearing surfaces (wings) to create lift.
There are many technical means that develop hypersonic speeds in the upper atmosphere, at altitudes of 50 km or more. All of them relate to the field of rocketry.
At an altitude of 80 kilometers, atmospheric pressure is 100,000 times lower than at the surface of the earth. This, to a certain extent, eliminates the danger of a “thermal barrier” when driving on hypersound. On the other hand, it makes it impossible to operate jet engines that receive the oxidizer from the oncoming air flow. Moreover, even such high speeds are not able to provide the creation of a lifting force in a rarefied environment.
In this case, only the ballistic trajectory. TTRD or two-component rocket engine.
However, 80 km is a clear overkill. Based on the known test results of hypersonic aircraft equipped with a ramjet engine, the maximum flight altitude for them is in the region of 30-35 km. At high altitudes, stable aerodynamic flight is practically unrealizable.
There are low-speed high-altitude aircraft with a large wing span: U-2, M-55 "Geophysics", UAV "Zephyr", capable of reaching heights of 20+ km. As you may have guessed, the focus is achieved thanks to the disproportionately large wing. But the wing area cannot grow indefinitely. While with increasing altitude, the density of the atmosphere continues to decline exponentially.
But you can increase the flight speed! What will it lead to? At an altitude of 100 km (Karman's line), the speed required to create lift will exceed the first cosmic one in magnitude. Which makes the very use of aerodynamics meaningless.
At an altitude of 30 km, the wings still cling to the thin air. But there is a “thermal barrier” ahead, ready to burn a hypersonic aircraft in a matter of minutes.
But the wings melted in the heat
And in the sea, forever blue
The madman fell from a height.
Well, the introduction, as always, was delayed. Let's see how the domestic project “Ikar” looks like against the background of foreign attempts to break through the speed barrier.
Interspecies missile system with a hypersonic missile / operational anti-ship missile ZM-22 "Zircon".
What is known about “Zircon” today?
1. Equipped with a starting booster and a sustainer ramjet engine.
2. On tests, I was able to develop a speed corresponding to Mach 8, which was 60% higher than the design speed of 5M.
3. Estimated flight range vary within 400 … 1000 km.
4. The missile is equipped with a warhead weighing 400 kg.
5. Mass and dimensions of "Zircon" correspond to the KR "Caliber", due to which storage and launching from a standard launching cell of the UKSK is ensured.
The infotainment format of the article prevents the emergence of any distant predictions and conclusions. The only thing we can say at this stage is that the stated performance characteristics of the Zircon are largely at odds with the published tests of western aircraft of a similar purpose.
Against the background of Zircon's successes, one can only marvel at the curvature and mediocrity of the Boeing designers and the Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA).
The launch mass of the X-51A Waverider (1814 kg "dry weight" + 120 kg of fuel) is approaching the upper limit of the mass of the KR family of the "Caliber".
With all this, the "Waverider" does not have a warhead. And it has a much lower flight speed.
Experimental hypersonic aircraft are launched from a B-52 bomber at an altitude of 13,000 m at a carrier speed of 800-900 km / h. Under such conditions, they already at the moment of separation from the carrier have a significant reserve of potential and kinetic energy. This allows to reduce the power requirements (and therefore save on weight) of the starter accelerator. *
Unlike foreign air-based KR, "Zircon" is created to equip the ships of the Navy. This means launching from the surface. And flight through dense layers of air (75% of the mass of the atmosphere is concentrated within 10,000 m).
Given these circumstances, "Zircon" should have a much more massive launching accelerator.
In general, as I have already said, I do not intend to draw any high-profile conclusions. In my personal opinion, the stated characteristics of the Zircon in the form of a compact 6-fly ramjet cruise missile are far from reality. The developers of Zircon (NPO Mashinostroyenia) also do not comment on the development of a promising anti-ship missile system and, despite international interest and media hype, have not yet presented even its layout.
Today "Zircon" flies only in the media space, burning aircraft carriers and aircraft carrier fleets of the enemy. While the “Khibiny” are burning out the electronic stuffing of the destroyers.
Firetail devil
Today's story will not be complete without the Kh-32 missile. In short, her story (from the point of view of the media) is as follows.
In 1968, the “stupid” creators of the Kh-22 anti-ship missile system set its maximum flight altitude at 20-25 km. Modern "smart" designers have taken and launched exactly the same rocket at an altitude of 40-45 km. That's right, because why fly low if you can fly twice as high.
The ceiling was doubled, without making exactly any changes in the aerodynamic appearance of the anti-ship missile system: the same fuselage, the same wing, there are no external differences.
To increase the degree of intrigue, the air pressure at an altitude of 42 km is 17 times lower than at an altitude of 22 km.
According to Zhukovsky's theorem, the magnitude of the lift is directly proportional to a) the density of the medium, b) the speed of the air flow, and c) the circulation of the air flow. So, attention, focus: the speed has increased by only 1.5 times, the parameters of the wing have remained the same, the air has become 17 times more rarefied. But the lifting force remained at the same level!
No, dear, no kidding. The Kh-32 missile exists. A carrier has even been allocated for it - the supersonic missile carrier Tu-22M3M (serial No. 4898649, board 9804), whose onboard equipment was adapted for the modernized missile.
The solution to this problem lies in the fact that the real profile of the X-32 flight differs markedly from the generally accepted fairy tale (or science fiction - as you like). By reducing the mass of the warhead and increasing fuel reserves, as well as making changes to the rocket engine (details are classified), it became possible to increase the maximum flight altitude along the ballistic curve from 22 to 40 km.
This flight profile is not very attractive when overcoming air defense / missile defense of ship formations. The rocket is at its maximum height for only one instant, followed by an inevitable descent along a quasi-ballistic curve. Those. most of the flight time, the Kh-32, like its predecessor, is in the affected area of the ship's air defense systems.
However, who is interested in these boring details!
Let's better evaluate the results of the Zircon hitting the flight deck of the newest Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier:
