Hypersonic weapons are preparing to have their say and perhaps even change the world. Russia, the United States, China, Europe and Japan intend to put such samples into service in the foreseeable future, and there, perhaps, others will catch up, although this path is long and thorny.
We will remind, in the past materials we examined samples of hypersonic weapons, which are created in the interests of the US Army and the American Air Force. As for such weapons for the American fleet, in the post-Soviet space they remain in the shadow of the Russian Zircon, about which we have heard a lot in recent months. However, it is the United States that may become the first country whose ships and submarines will begin to receive hypersonic missiles en masse. This does not mean that their new complexes are better than the Zircon, but that the US Navy objectively has more modern potential carriers and great opportunities for their modernization. Recall that the Americans have already commissioned seventeen of the newest multipurpose fourth-generation submarines of the Virginia type, and they are planning to build 66 in total. Although, looking ahead, we note that not all of them will carry hypersonic missiles.
For comparison: Russia is armed with one multipurpose submarine of the fourth generation, and "one" in the truest sense of the word. The fleet now includes only one project 885 ship - the K-560 Severodvinsk. The second submarine, built according to the improved project 885M K-561 "Kazan", is still being tested. It is not known when the tests will end. As for the PRC and its submarine fleet, things are bad, and whether the submarine forces of the Celestial Empire will be on the same level as the Russian Navy is a big question.
The first one went
It was not for nothing that we started talking about submarines and it was not for nothing that we mentioned the American Virginia. Not so long ago, USNI News reported that it was she who would carry the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) hypersonic units - one of the most mysterious and potentially dangerous American weapons systems. All of this is being implemented within the framework of the Conventional Prompt Strike program, which is known in the Russian-language media as "Non-Nuclear Rapid Strike", which quite well conveys the essence of the issue.
The concept itself is far from new, only earlier the United States wanted to place hypersonic units on nuclear submarines of the Ohio type. It is pertinent to recall that these four submarines were previously converted from strategic ballistic missile boats to what in Russian-language terminology sounds like SSGN (nuclear submarine with cruise missiles). The choice, it would seem, is quite logical: each such submarine can carry a monstrous arsenal of 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles. Their conversion for a new complex was theoretically possible, but do not forget that the very first and oldest of the Ohio-class submarines were converted into cruise missile carriers: USS Ohio, USS Michigan, USS Florida and USS Georgia. The latter was commissioned back in 1984. As for the carriers of ballistic missiles, we recall that they have recently begun to be armed with missiles with small-sized nuclear charges with a capacity of five kilotons. In general, these submarines have their own specific tasks.
Simply put, Virginia is the most promising and generally the most optimal carrier of hypersonic weapon qualities. And, importantly, one of the most numerous ships of the American US Navy in the foreseeable future.
Given the extremely low noise of these boats, the prospect of the Americans getting a breakthrough weapon looks not so fantastic. It is pertinent to recall that the Tomahawks, which are armed with boats of the Virginia type, are relatively simple subsonic missiles that can be effectively intercepted even without the most advanced means. A hypersonic glider flying at a tremendous speed is a completely different matter.
Glider C-HGB
What is Conventional Prompt Strike in technical terms? It is known that as part of the program, the Navy wants to get a two-stage missile with a diameter of 87 centimeters. The rocket acts as a carrier for the C-HGB hypersonic glider, which is being developed by Dynetics Technical Solutions.
The Common Hypersonic Glide Body itself is a very interesting "thing", to say the least. Suffice it to recall that it can radically increase both the potential of the fleet and the capabilities of the ground forces. The C-HGB acts as a unified solution that will also find its application within the Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) program. We are talking about a mobile two-container launcher with ballistic missiles.
It is too early to judge the capabilities of C-HGB. Earlier it was reported that the project is based on an experimental hypersonic warhead Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW), which unofficial sources gave an estimate of the range of 5000-6000 kilometers. It is also known that the AHW warhead reached Mach 8 in tests conducted in 2011 and 2012. Even if the actual range is half that, this is a very serious claim for success.
The concept itself is as follows. First, the Common Hypersonic Glide Body unit lifts and accelerates the launch vehicle, and then the C-HGB undocks from it and heads towards the target. Defense News recently reported that the US military tested the Common Hypersonic Glide Body on March 19. The device flew at a speed of more than Mach 5 and successfully hit the target. The tests that took place were the second: for the first time, the C-HGB was tested on October 1, 2017.
When and if the weapon is ready, it will have to be part of the arsenal of Virginia Block V boats equipped with an additional VPM (Virginia Payload Module) payload compartment. We are talking about a compartment with 28 vertical launchers, which, together with the already existing twelve launchers, increase their number to 40 units. This is a very serious increase in the potential of the Virginia-class submarines, even if the Americans had no hypersonic glider at all.
It is known that the last submarine Virginia Block IV will be ordered in 2014 SSN-801 - the 28th Virginia-class ship. In the new version, Block V, boats SSN-802 - SSN-811 will be executed. As for the carrier and the hypersonic glider, they should be ready by the end of the 2020s. In total, the US wants to spend $ 1 billion on research under the Conventional Prompt Strike program in fiscal 2021.
In general, the naval component of the American hypersonic triad, like its strategic "brother", looks potentially the most dangerous and destructive. But whether the Americans will succeed in realizing their plans is a completely different question.
