US (& Allies) Hypersonic developments and missiles

PapaDragon wrote:
Correct

Mach 4 ain’t no hypersonic, that's the speed of old Kh-22 Kitchen missile from 1962

They stole that from the US!! Back in 2025!!

GarryB wrote:Creepy Joe said the Russians copied their technology... based on this information I would say I suspect not.

The Russians stole US hypersonics like the Chinese stole US 5G.
i.e. not really.

Max. speed of the Kh-22 is M 4,6 (4.900km/h)

F... You´re right. Terminal speed is M 4,2. Cruise speed M 3,4.

The US has cancelled its PrSM program which was supposed to produce a hypersonic missile like the Iskander-M. Various US flapping
jaws quickly claimed they did not need such a system. Yeah, right.

This is another data point supporting the empirical theory that US hypersonic tech is sub par and far from real world realization.
All those demonstrators dating decades into the past appear not to have been sufficient to actually allow the US to develop
operational missiles like the Iskander-M. The posturing about not needing the PrSM is a stupid joke. Either the US military
is totally incompetent and can't even engage in project planning and specification of needs, or the contractors couldn't deliver.
The latter is vastly more likely.

As far as the vaunted US hypersonic missile system that is supposed to make all Russians obsolete, it looks like posturing hot air
that will not even arrive before 2030. But Russia plans to replace Iskander-M with new systems in the coming 5 years. Looks
like the US has a real hypersonic missile gap. But this is not 1960 and there will not be any come from behind wins.

Most of their so-called high tech companies are in reality marketing companies, selling stuff and data.

US Air Force detonates warhead for ARRW hypersonic missile. No missile launch though.

“The first-of-its-kind test for the air-to-ground, rocket-powered, high-altitude, hypersonic missile collected data on the lethality of the unique weapon,” says the USAF. In particular, the service says it was interested in gathering data on the unique “shape of the warhead”.

The USAF did not explain how the detonation test was performed, but the explosion appears not to be part of a hypersonic missile launch. The USAF attempted to fly an inert version of ARRW for the first time in April, but the test missile’s flight was aborted after a problem with its launch sequence. The service has planned another flight test this month.

https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/us-air-force-detonates-warhead-for-arrw-hypersonic-missile-for-first-time/144499.article

Next month news: ground support technician for the ARRW receives new shoes!

I wonder how many years will they manage to fill with irrelevant news, doing their best to look as if their hypersonic weapons were "practically there"

Next year they will get the booster running (to Mach 6 or so, barely hypersonic) and then claim it is a full fetched hypersonic weapon, ready to kill evil russians/chinese/iranians. Their MSM will do the rest, as with the F-35 or the Zumwalt.

Not using this picture as a praise but to rather laugh it running comparisons



I cant even keep a straight face looking at this shit especially when users from the U.S. think they are making a difference with dropping shit loads of cash to catch up or suddenly be ahead of Russia in missile technology.

Look at the fucking warhead weight 150Lbs, the klevok D-2's warhead weight is almost comparable to this with 125.6 lbs, extra sources told me of the two D-2 patents one of them can be used for air to ground with foldable wings, you can stuff a shit load of these with a stealth profile in your aircraft. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/End-to-end-mission-case-1-typical-ballistic-launch-followed-by-gliding-flight_fig5_268469692 The problem with HGV also is that they lose speed after the re-entry, the Klevok-D2 has a ramjet with mach 5.62 speeds during its last 40 seconds with a lower altitude profile for almost the same warhead weight and the speed stays constant because of motor until it hits its targets. HGVs just seem to vertically up and down in maneuvers while thrust vectoring ballistic missiles and air breathing missiles can change in all directions. Kinzhal has 500kg warhead, way longer distance, more directions for maneuverability.... The true beauty of the D-2 is they bumped up the warhead weight twice by pushing more weight in the back while keeping the same original diameter size and length meaning you have a stupidly small missile that is barely noticeable by radar, I don't even think it is possible for a radar to know the D-2 existed when your getting targeted because of its RCS from size.

Try to Imagine paying 13 million dollars for this, having a 926kms launch distance meaning you will have to be very lucky avoiding any fighter aircrafts that are currently in the air in case you run into them or attack and they immediately go after you. I would not even recommend a sea to coastal attack according to image when coastal defenses would just launch zircons at your carrier if your planning to load an aircraft with this missile or launch it at your base 1st. There is no way that you would not be getting noticed by satellites while you take off heading to your adversary's territory. Only good news is that the size of this missile is a little smaller at 5.9 meter length with 24 inch diameter than the kinzhal, but not even the option to go nuclear warhead? Talks of putting it on fighter aircrafts. Its also only used for fixed targets(cant confirm this with D2) while the kinzhal is for mobile targets like ships. stealth, fighter or giant ass aircraft carrying that thing will make you glow beautifully on radar if another aircraft happened to have some nice BVR missiles. Cant do this on land if enemies have a huge territory with OTH radars seeing a target 1000s of kilometers in which command will send fighter aircrafts your way. Even if you are in NATO territory satellites and OTH radars will watch your aircraft leave territory runway and give strike coordinates to that location in case there was a sudden change like plasma on speeds where ionization in the atmosphere would be noticed by HF frequencies that a hypersonic target is heading their way. Better to do it at a farther location launching a Kinzhal where your adversary will have a lesser reach to strike back which depends but better chances. There is even a possibility that after you launch it 926kms away a Russian aircrafts have better chances to tail you with air to air missiles or air to ground missiles when you go land back than launching it from distances used by Kinzhal

13 million dollars to deliver a 150lb payload on fixed targets. I would only present this as a joke to laugh at than be serious about in missile technology. This is a fucking abomination. Is this missile wrapped with paper thin photonic radar antennas all around its cylinder body that was displayed by Vega with the combination of artificial intelligence where the missile sees an interceptor missile coming at it from a certain distance to say ohh shit I am going to go this direction to avoid it and still hit my ground target? I just cant stop laughing at this shit.

But the new shoes and shoulder patches for the ground techs are great!

How much did it cost?

The appearance of a promising hypersonic missile system LRHW of the US Army

October 6th, 23:19

On October 5, 2021, the US Department of Defense released images of the 5th Battalion (Division) of the 3rd Artillery Regiment of the 17th Field Artillery Brigade of the US Army stationed at the Lewis McCord Joint Base in Washington State receiving training samples and an experimental first battery for training to the operation of the LRHW (Long Range Hypersonic Weapon) hypersonic missile system, which was recently officially named Dark Eagle. The pictures show several mass-dimensional models of transport and launch containers for LRHW missiles, as well as two towed launchers on semi-trailers transported by Oshkosh HEMTT A4 M983A4 Patriot (8x8) tractors.

It is indicated that the pictures were taken on 14 (transfer of two launchers) and 15 (transfer of mass-dimensional models of transport and launch containers of missiles) September 2021, while it is stated that the transfer should end with a ceremony at the Lewis-McCord joint base on October 7.

Both delivered launchers of the experimental first battery of the LRHW complex have their own names Stormbreaker and Hyperion. Each launcher carries two transport and launch containers for LRHW missiles.

Recall that the ground-based missile system LRHW (Long Range Hypersonic Weapon) Dark Eagle isin fact, a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile AUR (All-Up-Round), equipped with a universal guided maneuverable hypersonic warhead Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) performed by Block 1. The firing range of the complex is officially declared at 1725 miles (2775 km) ...

The LRHW program is led by Lockheed Martin Corporation, working in conjunction with the US Army Hypersonic Project Office; part of the US Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, Sandia National Laboratories ( Sandia National Laboratory) of the US Department of Energy and with the participation of the US Missile Defense Agency and Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS), Integration Innovation Inc. (i3), Verity Integrated Systems, Martinez & Turek, and Penta Research.

Sandia National Laboratories originally developed both the main components of the LRHW system - C-HGB and AUR, but now the lead role in R&D has been transferred to Lockheed Martin. The C-HGB hypersonic warhead is generally being developed to equip the weapons systems of the three types of American armed forces (army, air force and navy). The AUR missile will also be used by the US Navy.

The AUR missile has two solid-propellant stages with a hull diameter of 34.5 inches (887 mm), and in general, the LRHW complex weighs in an equipped state. The rocket will be launched from a transport and launch container about 10 m long with a two-container ground towed mobile launcher with an Oshkosh HEMTT A4 M983A4 Patriot (8x8) tractor. The launcher semi-trailer is a modified M870 semi-trailer of the Patriot air defense missile launcher. The missile system will use the standard American missile and artillery fire control system AFATDS in performance 7.0 for fire control. The standard battery of the LRHW system will include four dual-container launchers and one fire control vehicle.

Presumably, the C-HGB gyrosonic warhead is based on the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) experimental hypersonic warhead developed by Sandia National Laboratories (AHW), which was flight tested in 2011 and 2012 and reached a speed of 8M. For the C-HGB, the speed of "more than 5M" is officially announced so far.

Two test launches of the Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) universal guided maneuverable gliding warhead were carried out on October 30, 2017 and March 19, 2020 using the STARS-4 solid-propellant launch vehicle specially developed by Sandia National Laboratories .

In August 2019, the US Army awarded contractsLockheed Martin in the amount of $ 347 million for the development and creation of a prototype LRHW, and Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS) in the amount of $ 352 million for the production of the first serial set of the C-HGB universal guided maneuverable gliding hypersonic warhead.

The US Army planned to start testing LRHW in 2021 with test launches about every six months, but now the start of flight tests has been postponed to 2022. Already in the 2023 fiscal year, it is planned to start the deployment of the first battery of the LRHW system with its setting on "experimental combat duty" as part of the 5th battalion (division) of the 3rd artillery regiment of the 17th field artillery brigade of the US Army, and now this battery has received first materiel and training equipment. Now the brigade includes two divisions (battalions) equipped with M142 HIMARS missile systems (including the 5th battalion of the 3rd artillery regiment). Subsequently, the serial batteries of the LRHW Dark Eagle system should be reduced to "strategic fire engagement battalions"

The US Navy, in turn, is carrying out the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) ship-based hypersonic missile program, which is actually a shipborne version of the LRHW in the same combination of C-HGB and AUR. The CPS missile is supposed to be used from surface ships and submarines. The CPS is slated to reach its initial operational capability in FY2025, when the missile is to be deployed on US Zumwalt- class destroyers. From fiscal 2028, the CPS missile is to be deployed on Virginia Block V -class nuclear-powered multipurpose submarines equipped with Virginia Payload Module (VPM) weapon modules.















Obtaining two prototypes of a mobile launcher and mass-dimensional mock-ups of transport and launch containers for missiles of the promising American LRHW (Long Range Hypersonic Weapon) Dark Eagle ground-based hypersonic missile system by the 5th battalion (division) of the 3rd artillery regiment of the 17th field brigade US Army Artillery in Lewis McCord, Washington State, 14-15.09.2021 (c) Kyle Larsen / US Army

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4408204.html