Russia and other developments in Hypersonic Research

max steel wrote:PROPAGANDA , everyone does.  See the above comment they tested Mach 7.5 missile. US Hypersonic missile like X-51 Waverider(Mach 5) will only appear in mid-2020's( as claimed rest who knows) .

bu it is true US is between Russia and China. Russia hits with Sarmats/Rubezhs and China from the other hand with Dong-Fengs

max steel wrote:PROPAGANDA , everyone does.  See the above comment they tested Mach 7.5 missile. US Hypersonic missile like X-51 Waverider(Mach 5) will only appear in mid-2020's( as claimed rest who knows) .

Russia's hypersonic system is clouded in secrecy that it is very hard to determine what is going on. I imagine they are very far in its development, but they just do not like to spew off like US does on its claims. So many claims, and so many failures to their claims or no actual other info past said claims from US.

So I imagine that time will tell when Russia starts to bring these out. And they may be so strategic that there may be no additional info either.

Excellent piece about Russian hypersonic

Russian Top Secret Hypersonic Glider Can Penetrate Any Missile Defense

Apparently there are two different types (actually many more but intended for ICBM and alike)

Yu-71 - Mach 10 (approx??)
Yu-74 - used in Sarmat project Mach 8 (approx??) each equiped with nuclear warhead, ECM/ECCM, decoys ,

it seems that Yu-74 could be further optimization of the Yu-71 (or its smaller brother )

but also very interesting part

The website also calls attention to the fact that the project aimed at creating Russia's hypersonic air-launched cruise missiles has also entered its final phase. Reportedly, new hypersonic cruise missiles will be in many respects similar to the Yu-74.

Viktor wrote:Excellent piece about Russian hypersonic

Russian Top Secret Hypersonic Glider Can Penetrate Any Missile Defense

Apparently there are two different types (actually many more but intended for ICBM and alike)

Yu-71 - Mach 10 (approx??)
Yu-74 - used in Sarmat project Mach 8 (approx??) each  equiped with nuclear warhead, ECM/ECCM, decoys ,

it seems that Yu-74 could be further optimization of the Yu-71 (or its smaller brother )

but also very interesting part

The website also calls attention to the fact that the project aimed at creating Russia's hypersonic air-launched cruise missiles has also entered its final phase. Reportedly, new hypersonic cruise missiles will be in many respects similar to the Yu-74.

Here is more information (spanish)

Russia is testing now the Yu-71 (Project 4202) Space Glider, which between 2013 and 2016 was released 4 times from the Baikonur Dombarovsky, using the first stage of an ICBM UR-100. At an altitude of 70 km, the rocket begins to apply corrections spatial planning in horizontal path that gives a cruising speed of between 11,200 and 12,500 km / h, and then the separation is performed. All flight distance of 5,500 km spatial planning was exceeded in 16 minutes. Unlike the heads of ballistic missiles, space planning Yu-71 can maneuver your flight is one of the variables that can not be calculated by computers ballistic shields centers of American leadership. Starting from 2020, Russia will have 24 Yu-71 strategic nuclear base Dombarovsky.

spanish
http://katehon.com/es/article/rusia-desmantela-el-mito-de-la-invencibilidad-naval-americana

Google trans..

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fkatehon.com%2Fru%2Fnode%2F30355&edit-text=


I just LOL ,at the "experts" who were saying Russia "dont need" a hypersonic plane ,because it will be "too expensive" and that a subsonic pak-da will be "good enough". Obviously that was Non sense ,totally disconnected with reality the world we live today.

What will be really incredibly expensive is that Russia is blocked from the use of SPACE by Americans which is exactly what pentagon have been saying wants to do. [u]Full spectrum Space Domination,to negate space to any nation they want .

The report above says Russia have plans to build ~24x of them. Russia testing now hypersonic gliders/bombers who fly in the mesosphere,to target US navy battle group in the atlantic , which is almost exactly what i was saying Russia really needs for a *real* deterrence on Americans. But Russia needs to take this to a full scale very fast /mesosphere bomber that can fly to US main land and Return. Americans also working in their hypersonic plane too , unfortunately for them S-500 will not have Aegis Sm-3 interception limitations. Space wars will be be impossible for Russia to avoid , so its needs to become really strong in high altitude combats. Who ever dominate space combat ,will dominate anything that is under it. will be able to strike in real time any military tanks and infantry positions and battleship formations with a clear view of the target in any part of the world . This is a zone where 100% of the combat planes of the world and 99.8% of the missiles in the world do not work.

I just LOL ,at the "experts" who were saying Russia "dont need" a hypersonic plane Rolling Eyes ,because it will be "too expensive" and that a subsonic pak-da will be "good enough". Obviously that was Non sense ,totally disconnected with reality the world we live today.

This is not a hypersonic plane... it is a hypersonic glider... in other words it is like the difference between making a supersonic rocket and a supersonic plane... supersonic rockets and hypersonic rockets are easy compared with supersonic and then hypersonic planes which take much longer to develop and are more expensive.

Viktor wrote:Excellent piece about Russian hypersonic

Russian Top Secret Hypersonic Glider Can Penetrate Any Missile Defense

Apparently there are two different types (actually many more but intended for ICBM and alike)

Yu-71 - Mach 10 (approx??)
Yu-74 - used in Sarmat project Mach 8 (approx??) each  equiped with nuclear warhead, ECM/ECCM, decoys ,

it seems that Yu-74 could be further optimization of the Yu-71 (or its smaller brother )

Sputnik

Calm down. As far as reported there is only one glider Yu-71 not Yu-74 basically they are confusing their names. Someone is calling it Yu-74 others are calling it Yu-71 but in actual there is only one glider, see the successful test reported both the gliders used same SS-19 on same day.

The Russian hypersonic project is shrouded in mystery which is why no one can tell for sure and which is why every information counts

I've reas your links the one sputnik quotes is calling Yu-71 as Yu-74 so it's pretty much evident there is only glider not TWO. Rest secrecy is good

I've reas your links the one sputnik quotes is calling Yu-71 as Yu-74 so it's pretty much evident there is only glider not TWO. Rest secrecy is good

Correct. We cant allow ourselves to be guided by whims. This ria novosti article is stinks of imaginative and wishfull thinking without any proofs.
If we keep reading and analyzing articles which are full of modified names(like yu-74) , we will only get confused without any real information.

This article given by Victor presents a more fuller pictues.(Causes and outcomes both ).
object 4202 production

See basically just by increasing the no of news articles and quoting lots of names for the same project does make it true.

This may be good for scaring pentagon and NATO but not for our information back up.

Well time will tell whether this sputnik news article has any truths.From  my info max 3 gliders were part of sarmat missiles. This is totally
wishfull thinking to say 24 gliders in one sarmat missile.

so the last stage is not self propelled? maibe a bullet like mechanism? one single explosion to give some boost?

Like the space shuttle... it glides in its final phase.

RUSSIA DISMANTLES THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN NAVY’S INVINCIBILITY

US rules the globe, having a navy three times stronger than that of Russia. Moreover, the Pentagon has created a strategic command to deploy large units of land forces, consisting of hundreds of cargo ships of large capacity. All of these vessels are organized in very strong expeditionary naval groups and around aircraft carriers, amphibious landing ships, and naval convoys of troops and military equipment.

With troops deployed in Europe and Asia, with the armies of allied states, the US can trigger an invasion of Russia. Therefore Russia's new military doctrine establishes that the biggest risk to Russia's security groups is the American expeditionary naval groups, which can transport invasion troops to the Russian border.

Several types of anti-ballistic shield protect US naval expeditionary groups and zones of landing for troops from transport ships. The first is the naval system AEGIS armed with SM-3 block 1b mounted on US destroyers and cruisers AEGIS, plus anti-ballistic shields in Poland and one in Romania. The second is the mobile THAAD system of the US land forces, defending landing zones. Add to this the mobile long-range missile anti-aircraft batteries like Patriot with anti-ballistic capabilities against missiles that are in their final stage of the path, under an altitude of 35,000 m.

The premise from which Russian experts started building hypersonic vehicles was that American antiballistic missiles cannot intercept any projectile flying in the mesosphere (at altitudes of 35.000- 80.000 m), and that Russia, unlike the US, owns a number of very powerful rocket engines. For example, the Pentagon and NASA cannot send satellites into orbit if Russia does not deliver the RD-180 rocket engines. Russia is on the verge of creating, starting in 2018, the surest antidote to this vulnerability by means of a hypersonic battle. Aerial vehicles are classified according to the airspeed as follows: subsonic (below the speed of 1,220 km/h, - Mach 1) supersonic (speeds between Mach 1 and Mach 5 - up to 6000 km/h), and hypersonic (with speeds between Mach 5 and Mach 10 – up to 12,000 km/h).

Russian hypersonic weapons

The main Russian hypersonic weapon are derived from space glider Yu-71 (Project 4202), which flew during tests at a speed of 6000-11200 km/h over a distance of 5,500 km at a cruising altitude below 80,000 m, receiving repeated pulses from a rocket engine to climb, execute maneuvers and cornering trajectory. It is estimated that the glider is armed with warheads that are spatially independent, with autonomous guidance systems similar to the air-ground missiles Kh-29 L/T and T Kh-25 (which provides a probable deviation of 2-6 m). Although it may take nuclear warheads, the space glider will be armed with conventional warheads and will be powered by a rocket launched normally from nuclear-powered Russian submarines.




Another variant of the hypersonic weapon derived from the Yu-71 would be those launched from the Russian military transport aircraft Il-76MD-90A (II-476). Since 50% of the missile’s fuel is spent solely on take off and rising though the layers of extremely dense atmosphere of up to 10,000 m, mass launcher and glider space represents 50% of the rocket carrier used to launch from nuclear-powered submarines.

The second type of weapon different from hypersonic spatial glider is the Zirkon 3M22 missile, which is launched from maritime patrol aircraft. Zirkon has a speed of Mach 6.2 (6500 km/h) at a cruising altitude of 30,000 m and a kinetic energy at impact with the target 50 times higher than existing air-ship and ship-to ship missiles.



Hypersonic concept for a war

The new Russian military doctrine states that an attack on the American invasion fleet is to be executed in three waves, three alignments, thus preventing American expeditionary naval groups from positioning themselves near the Russian coast of the Baltic Sea. The first wave of hypersonic weapons, consisting of space gliders arranged on Russian nuclear-powered submarines under immersion in the middle of the Atlantic, starts fighting US naval expeditionary groups as they start crossing the Atlantic to Europe. The American naval groups need 7-8 days to cross the Atlantic; the plane Il-76MD-90A has a maximum flight distance of 6300 km and can be powered in the air, reaching the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a few hours.



If the first wave does not destroy the targets, the second wave of hypersonic weapons will be launched on the US naval groups when they are located 1,000 km from the eastern shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The attack will be launched from the Russian submarines in the Barents Sea or Plesesk base of strategic missiles, located near the Arctic Circle and the White Sea



The third wave of hypersonic attack will be executed by missiles 3M22 Zirkon launched on American naval groups when they would be in the Skagerrak strait (crossing the North Sea to the Baltic Sea), on the assumption that NATO is attacking Russia through the Baltics. If the American expeditionary naval group head to the Black Sea, it will be hit by the third wave of hypersonic weapons in the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.



Thus, Poland, the Baltic States, and Romania – all NATO countries that use highly aggressive language and actions against Russia - should think better before triggering a military incident with Russia, since these countries rely only on military aid over the Atlantic Ocean, which might never come.

DARPA revives turbine-ramjet concept for hypersonics

A turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system to enable routine hypersonic flight by a vehicle that can take-off and land from a runway is back on the agenda at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) after a five-year hiatus.

The experimenting agency has set a “proposers day” on 13-14 July for potential bidders of the Advanced Full Range Engine (AFRE) programme, which is scheduled to launch as a new-start effort in Fiscal 2017.

Combining a turbine engine with a ramjet in the same vehicle has been a dream for the aerospace industry since the early 1950s, when the US Air Force proposed adapting Republic’s concept for the XF-103 fighter with a ramjet to intercept Soviet bombers at speeds up to Mach 5.

But TBCC concepts are limited by a propulsion gap between the Mach 2.5 top speed of a turbine engine and the Mach 3-3.5 minimum speed for a ramjet engine.

In 2009, DARPA attempted to bridge that gap with a high-speed turbine and a low-speed ramjet under the Mode Transition (MoTr) programme, but the project was cancelled two years later. By 2013, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works organisation appeared to lobby for a revival of the research effort by releasing a concept for a Mach 6.0-capable SR-72 for high-speed surveillance missions, which was based on a similar TBCC propulsion system.

The AFRE programme now seeks to pick up where MoTr left off, leading to a ground demonstration of a fully integrated propulsion system capable of taking-off from a runway and accelerating beyond Mach 5. The system will include an off-the-shelf turbine engine and a dual mode ramjet/scramjet capable of operating with subsonic or supersonic airflows. Both engines share a common inlet and exhaust nozzle, but transition from turbine to ramjet power at a certain speed over Mach 2.5.

“This won’t be the first time that ambitious engineers will attempt to combine turbine and ramjet technologies. But with recent advances in manufacturing methods, modeling, and other disciplines, we believe this potentially groundbreaking achievement may finally be within reach,” says Christopher Clay, DARPA programme manager.

The programme could benefit from other recent experiments, including the Boeing X-51 Waverider programme funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The X-51 completed the first flight tests of a ramjet powered by hydrocarbon fuel, which also served as a coolant. The X-51, however, required a disposable rocket — a booster stage from the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) — to accelerate to Mach 4.0, where the ramjet took over.

max steel wrote:Current American, Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapon timelines see initial deployments from 2020-2025

What's this, the Zircon enters service by 2022, solely because of the The Pyotr Veliky, you've gotta kidding me the Pyotr Veliky isn't the only ship in Russia with UKSK launchers.

And whats with this YU-74 i only heard about YU-71?

UPDATE: Is the 3S-14-11442M vertical launch system the same as the UKSK??

AlfaT8 wrote:

max steel wrote:Current American, Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapon timelines see initial deployments from 2020-2025

What's this, the Zircon enters service by 2022, solely because of the The Pyotr Veliky, you've gotta kidding me the Pyotr Veliky isn't the only ship in Russia with UKSK launchers.

And whats with this YU-74 i only heard about YU-71?

UPDATE: Is the 3S-14-11442M vertical launch system the same as the UKSK??

It probably is. UKSK consists of a four missile bundle, crammed into one or two large tubes, giving it 4 or 8 rounds depending on the size of whatever is carrying it. If I had to guess "3S-14-11442M" probably uses the same four-round bundles, but the outside tube is different, custom built for the battlecruisers given that the weapon has the 11442M denotation. It might even be a 16 round UKSK unit.

sepheronx wrote:^
What?  No....... Just no.

The best response is what they already have and are already fielding - Iskander missiles and Kalibr.  Saturation attacks are the biggest threat to any military, be it Russia or US.  

or Smerch 300mm with range extended to 250km and one salvo everything all AAD is cleared then besides bunkers. If nukes ar eadded then all evaporates.

sepheronx wrote:^
If lets say Russia just scraps the INF treaty, because of the US and what they are doing, it would benefit Russia quite a lot.  And in so, it wouldn't really take much to turn Iskander from a limited 500km range missile to 1,500+ km range missile in the same configuration (QBM).

that´s why SS-26 Rubezh is modular and can be used as IRBM...

Russia's 'US Missile Defense-Killing' Hypersonic Rockets Arriving Soon

Russian defense analyst Vladimir Tuchkov analyses Russian, Chinese and American developments in hyper-sonic weapons technology, including the expected timeframe for their deployment, which is sooner than you may expect.

Last week, Tactical Missile Systems Corporation general director Boris Obnosov told Russian media that he was confident that Russia would be introducing hypersonic missiles capable of speeds between Mach 6 and Mach 7 by the year 2020.

The director emphasized that such weapons would significantly weaken the potential of enemy missile defense. "It's obvious that with such speeds – when missiles will be capable of flying through the atmosphere at speeds of 7-12 times the speed of sound, all [air] defense systems will be weakened considerably."

Tactical Missile Systems Corporation (KTRV by its Russian acronym) is based in Korolyev, outside Moscow. Several dozen specialized research institutes and industrial enterprises are involved in the development of Russia's hypersonic missile potential, with KTRV a leader in this area not only in Russia but also compared to defense engineering companies globally.

Obnosov's comments come on the heels of a recent speech by Admiral Cecil Haney, the Head of US Strategic Command, in which the admiral warned that American anti-missile and anti-aircraft defense systems will be virtually incapable of intercepting the Russian hypersonic systems expected to be deployed soon.

Commenting on these developments in a piece for Svobodnaya Pressa, Russian defense analyst Vladimir Tuchkov pointed out that while supersonic weapons have become a very popular topic of discussion today, their development actually began much, much earlier, going back to the Cold War.

The analyst recalled that "in the 1970s, the Raduga Design Bureau, now a part of KTRV, began research exploring the possibility of creating a cruise missile with a speed of Mach 5 or greater. At the time, the problem was little studied. Firstly, it was impossible to use ordinary turbojet engines for speeds in excess of Mach 3. The sharp increase in air speed pressure resulted in a loss of efficiency in the engines, with a sharp rise in temperature in the combustion chamber of the air-fuel mixture also reducing efficiency. The higher the temperature, the lower the thrust. Moreover, as temperatures rose, so too did the risk of the rocket's turbine blades becoming deformed and simply melting."

"In this situation," Tuchkov noted, "the only option is the use of a ramjet engine — in this case a hypersonic scramjet. The use of a rocket engine, either liquid or solid fueled, for cruise missiles, is impossible, since the entire trajectory of the flight must be actively controlled and adjustable."

"The design of the scramjet is very simple, with the number of moving parts reduced to a minimum. Theoretically, these craft can reach speeds of up to Mach 25, although the practical ceiling of operation is about Mach 17-19. However, the scramjet also has a significant drawback – its normal operation begins at speeds exceeding Mach 3. Before this speed, it is necessary to accelerate the missile using a solid booster, or some other method, similar to the kind used to launch a high-speed aircraft."

The analyst recalled that when development of hypersonic missile technology first began in the Soviet period, one of the key problems for engineers was overheating. "It was necessary to create the kind of heat shield through which the onboard flight control equipment would continue to work flawlessly."

In the 1980s, Raduga Design Bureau created several prototypes of a new cruise missile – the Kh-90, NATO codenamed Koala. The cruise missile weighed 15 tons, had a length of 9 meters, and a 7 meter wingspan. With an expected range of up to 3,000 km, the missile had a design speed of Mach 5.

"The project," Tuchkov noted, "advanced far enough for several test launches to be conducted. During the last of them, the missile reached speeds ranging from Mach 3 to Mach 4." The missile was aircraft-launched.

Of course, "all of the USSR's hypersonic weapons designs were strictly classified. It was only due to the fact that the project was closed in 1992 thanks to a lack of financing and the collapse of the defense industry in general that some information about the Kh-90 has become publically available."

After a period of stagnation in the 1990s, development resumed. Today, the analyst noted, Russia has reached a point where it has created and is actively testing at least two hypersonic systems. "This includes the 3K-22 Zircon anti-ship cruise missile, the main developer of which is the NPO Machine Building plant in Reutov, outside Moscow, which is also part of KTRV. At the same time, an export version of the missile, known as the Brahmos, is being developed for the Indian Navy."

The first information about the Zircon appeared in 2011, with testing beginning a year later. "To date, five test launches have been made…During the last launch, in March of this year, the rocket was successfully tested in normal operation mode."

Effectively, Tuchkov noted, "work on the Zircon is progressing so rapidly that the first state testing is expected to begin next year, and mass production the year after that, in 2018. In this connection, the Tactical Missile System Corporation director's forecasts about the year 2020 looks quite modest."

"Of course, he is talking about speeds of Mach 6-7, while the Zircon's design speed is 'only' Mach 5. Various estimates suggest its range may be between 400 and 1,000 km. Precise information on the engines is not available, but informed analysts suggest that acceleration is carried out via a reactive solid booster, with a scramjet used as the main engine."

Furthermore, the Zircon has already been slated for installation onboard the heavy nuclear missile cruisers — the Peter the Great and the Admiral Nakhimov. It is also expected that a new Russian nuclear submarine, codenamed Project-Husky, currently under development, will be equipped with the Zircon.

"As for Project 4202, it appears that this system will be able to meet and surpass the speeds discussed by Tactical Missiles Corporation's director. This missile too is being developed by the NPO Machine Building plant. To be more precise – this is not an independent missile, but rather a warhead onboard an intercontinental ballistic missile, which, after separation from the launch vehicle, acts like a hypersonic cruise missile would, maneuvering freely to determine direction and pitch."

According to informed estimates, Project 4202 is capable of speeds between Mach 7 and Mach 12. For this reason, Tuchkov noted, the system can overcome "not only modern means of US missile defense, but even those systems which American engineers have not even begun to develop yet."

The testing of Russia's hypersonic gliders is taking place using the tried and true RS-18B 'Stiletto' silo-based ICBMs, used to accelerate them up to the appropriate speed. "After being adopted by the military, Project 4202 will be installed aboard the new RS-28 Sarmat, and on future Russian ICBM designs. This is expected to take place between 2020 and 2025. When the expected first batch of 20 supersonic warheads is rolled out, it will effectively make the US missile defense system pointless. Every Sarmat will feature three hypersonic combat gliders."

Foreign Analogues: USA

Of course Russia is not the only country engaged in the creation of prospective hypersonic weaponry. The X-51, being developed by the Boeing Corporation under the aegis of the Pentagon's 'prompt global strike' concept, is expected to reach speeds of Mach 6-7. Testing began in 2010, but, as Tuchkov pointed out, none of them have been deemed successful so far. Brought into the air aboard a B-52 strategic bomber, the X-51, with a range of 500 km, has clocked a maximum speed of Mach 5.1. "However, all flights ended in the destruction of the test missile before the end of its planned flight."

"Setting out on this costly project, the US positioned it as a tool for effective and lighting-speed strikes against terrorist groups. However, there is no doubt that the Pentagon also had in mind the traditional confrontation with Russia, and against a rapidly developing China. Yet the X-51, even if it is brought into mass production, will not solve the problems it was designed to handle, since the prospective Russian S-500 anti-aircraft missile system is expected to be capable of destroying hypersonic missiles."

In this sense, Tuchkov noted, the DARPA program's Falcon HTV-2 has better characteristics in terms of its speed, having been successfully clocked at Mach 20. But the vehicle was launched from near space, first carried up by rocket booster, from where it hurled back down to earth.

"In other words, there's nothing new here; the US Space Shuttles and our Buran flew in similar fashion. Following the second test, which took place in 2011, the missile was recognized as unpromising, since it was almost uncontrollable, and impossible to establish communications with."

Foreign Analogues: China

China too is actively involved in the development of hypersonic technology, beginning with its WU-14 rocket, which began testing in 2013. An average of three tests per year has taken place since then. The system's declared speed is Mach 10, although as Tuchkov pointed out, a variety of contradictory information has been circulating, estimating speeds from Mach 1.5 to Mach 7.

"Series production of the WU-14 is expected to begin in the second half of the 2020s, and it is expected to be mounted on ballistic missiles, which for the Chinese is very important. Today, only a small number of Chinese ICBMs is capable of reaching the US, giving the Pentagon the hypothetical ability to fight off a Chinese nuclear attack. For Beijing, this is not only insulting, but disadvantageous in the diplomatic competition between the powers. With the arrival of hypersonic warheads, the US is expected to 'behave' more prudently."

"Another task entrusted to the new weapon is the destruction of aircraft carriers; their defenses would be powerless against maneuverable warheads traveling at speeds of Mach 10."

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160822/1044514884/russian-us-chinese-hypersonic-missile-designs-analysis.html

And more confirmation that Sarmat will carry multiple hypersonic gliders

Lockheed Martin has won a $147 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to research the hypersonic Mach 5 Tactical Boost Glide aircraft project.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/20160920/1045488432/lockheed-martin-hypersonic-research.html

George1 wrote:

Lockheed Martin has won a $147 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to research the hypersonic Mach 5 Tactical Boost Glide aircraft project.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/20160920/1045488432/lockheed-martin-hypersonic-research.html

Since boost-glide is old news for warheads this must be research useful for future ground to space aircraft. It seems that
lift can be obtained by going faster as the air density decreases with height. Conventional wings are useless above 25 km
but high speed lifting bodies can still use the air for lift at the expense of lots of energy for speed.

So Prompt Global Strike is an evolutionary stage of aircraft as they eventually become ground to orbit vehicles.

Russia may get hypersonic weapons in early 2020's — media

The Tactical Missile Systems Corporation is taking into account the Soviet Union's Kholod and Kholod-2 projects in developing hypersonic weapons

MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. Russian specialists working on development of hypersonic weapons may get first results as early as the beginning of the next decade, Boris Obnosov, the general director of the Tactical Missile Systems Corporation has told the Kommersant daily in an interview. The official has marked outstanding results in that dicrection.

According to Obnosov, the corporation is taking into account and using the experience and best practice of Soviet specialists, in particular the Kholod and Kholod-2 projects.

The head of the corporation refrained from comparing the progress of Russia with that of the United States and China.

More:
http://tass.com/defense/902160?_ga=1.55173099.1337049799.1447427261

Very solid interview:

Andrei Grigoriev: "Research in the field of hypersonic technology in the near future will lead to the emergence of new weapons systems with improved performance"

juts to remind you gents: by 4km/s (13Ma) you need no explosives. there is no explosive delivering more energy then kinetic on just solid warhead... imagine such missile with half ton warhead hitting AC...

kvs wrote:

George1 wrote:

Lockheed Martin has won a $147 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to research the hypersonic Mach 5 Tactical Boost Glide aircraft project.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/20160920/1045488432/lockheed-martin-hypersonic-research.html

Since boost-glide is old news for warheads this must be research useful for future ground to space aircraft.   It seems that
lift can be obtained by going faster as the air density decreases with height.    Conventional wings are useless above 25 km
but high speed lifting bodies can still use the air for lift at the expense of lots of energy for speed.  

So Prompt Global Strike is an evolutionary stage of aircraft as they eventually become ground to orbit vehicles.  

Like short info in Tass about smal hypersonic orbital bomber then ware official dementi and news disappeared ? i love to see this bomber in couple of years fielded

US working on similar system air based

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/08/us-still-leads-hypersonic-weapon.html