Two main types of hypersonic weapons are hypersonic cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles. Hypersonic weapons, by definition, travel five or more times the speed of sound. Hypersonic cruise missiles, which are powered by scramjet, are restricted below 100,000 feet; hypersonic glide vehicles can travel higher. Compared to a ballistic (parabolic) trajectory, a hypersonic vehicle would be capable of large-angle deviations from a parabolic trajectory. According to CNBC, Russia and China lead in hypersonic weapon development, trailed by the United States. France, India, and Australia may also be pursuing the technology.
Japan is acquiring both scramjet (Hypersonic Cruise Missile), and boost-glide weapons (Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile). Waverider hypersonic weapons delivery is an avenue of development. China's XingKong-2 (星空二号, Starry-sky-2), a waverider, had its first flight 3 August 2018.
In 2016, Russia is believed to have conducted two successful tests of Avangard, a hypersonic glide vehicle. The third known test, in 2017, failed. In 2018, an Avangard was launched at the Dombarovskiy missile base, reaching its target at the Kura shooting range, a distance of 3700 miles (5955 km). Avangard uses a scramjet engine. Avangard uses new composite materials which are to withstand temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 degrees Fahrenheit). The Avangard's environment at hypersonic speeds reaches such temperatures. Russia considered its carbon fiber solution to be unreliable, and replaced it with composite materials. Two Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) will first be mounted on SS-19 ICBMs; on 27 December 2019 the weapon was first fielded to the Yasnensky Missile Division, a unit in the Orenburg Oblast. In an earlier report, Franz-Stefan Gady named the unit as the 13th Regiment/Dombarovskiy Division (Strategic Missile Force).
These tests have prompted US responses in weapons development per John Hyten's USSTRATCOM statement 05:03, 8 August 2018 (UTC). At least one vendor is developing ceramics to handle the temperatures of hypersonics systems. There are over a dozen US hypersonics projects as of 2018, notes the commander of USSTRATCOM; from which a future hypersonic cruise missile is sought, perhaps by Q4 FY2021. There are also privately developed hypersonic systems. DoD tested a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) in 2020.
According to Air Force chief scientist, Dr. Greg Zacharias, the US anticipates having hypersonic weapons by the 2020s, hypersonic drones by the 2030s, and recoverable hypersonic drone aircraft by the 2040s. The focus of DoD development will be on air-breathing boost-glide hypersonics systems. Countering hypersonic weapons during their cruise phase will require radar with longer range, as well as space-based sensors, and systems for tracking and fire control.
Rand Corporation (28 September 2017) estimates there is less than a decade to prevent Hypersonic Missile proliferation. In the same way that anti-ballistic missiles were developed as countermeasures to ballistic missiles, counter-countermeasures to hypersonics systems were not yet in development, as of 2019. But by 2019, $157.4 million was allocated in the FY2020 Pentagon budget for hypersonic defense, out of $2.6 billion for all hypersonic-related research. Both the US and Russia withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in February 2019. This will spur arms development, including hypersonic weapons. More details
Japan is acquiring both scramjet (Hypersonic Cruise Missile), and boost-glide weapons (Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile). Waverider hypersonic weapons delivery is an avenue of development. China's XingKong-2 (星空二号, Starry-sky-2), a waverider, had its first flight 3 August 2018.In 2016, Russia is believed to have conducted two successful tests of Avangard, a hypersonic glide vehicle. The third known test, in 2017, failed. In 2018, an Avangard was launched at the Dombarovskiy missile base, reaching its target at the Kura shooting range, a distance of 3700 miles (5955 km). Avangard uses a scramjet engine. Avangard uses new composite materials which are to withstand temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 degrees Fahrenheit). The Avangard's environment at hypersonic speeds reaches such temperatures. Russia considered its carbon fiber solution to be unreliable, and replaced it with composite materials. Two Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) will first be mounted on SS-19 ICBMs; on 27 December 2019 the weapon was first fielded to the Yasnensky Missile Division, a unit in the Orenburg Oblast. In an earlier report, Franz-Stefan Gady named the unit as the 13th Regiment/Dombarovskiy Division (Strategic Missile Force).
These tests have prompted US responses in weapons development per John Hyten's USSTRATCOM statement 05:03, 8 August 2018 (UTC). At least one vendor is developing ceramics to handle the temperatures of hypersonics systems. There are over a dozen US hypersonics projects as of 2018, notes the commander of USSTRATCOM; from which a future hypersonic cruise missile is sought, perhaps by Q4 FY2021. There are also privately developed hypersonic systems. DoD tested a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) in 2020.
