What is known about Russian and American hypersonic weapons

What are hypersonic weapons?

These are the latest systems capable of moving at speeds significantly

greater than the speed of sound - 6,000 km/h. This makes such weapons invulnerable to modern missile defense systems, no matter how technically advanced they are.

Another important advantage of hypersound is that itsignificantly reduces the time for deciding on a retaliatory strike. In conditions when the entire strategic command is locked into the head of state, the possibilities for an effective response are significantly reduced.

Until recently, under dominationnuclear weapons, states defended their territories with the help of a missile defense system, which includes detection, warning and anti-missile systems themselves. The task of the missile defense is to have time to destroy the enemy warhead before it hits the target.

The problem is that even the most modernanti-missile defense systems are sharpened for missiles flying along a ballistic trajectory. Their flight is calculated: the place of a hypothetical strike of a potential enemy is calculated, after which forces sufficient to repel the attack are concentrated there.

This does not work with hypersonic weapons. Its speed, many times exceeding the mark of 5,000 km / h, leaves no time to react accordingly. The use of hypersonic weapons allows you to destroy the nuclear shield of any enemy in a matter of minutes without the threat of retaliation.

Thus, accumulated by some worldpowers, nuclear arsenals are becoming simply useless. The invulnerability and colossal speed of hypersonic weapons are what makes them more dangerous than nuclear weapons. In addition, no computer, even the most powerful, is capable of calculating the constantly changing trajectory of hypersonic missiles.

Disappearance of the deterrent in this casedramatically increases the likelihood of a preemptive attack. It may be tempting to use hypersound to deliver a quick and effective strike and disarm the enemy in order to force him to favorable conditions.

The first thing that catches your eye is the nose part.We are accustomed to the fact that all existing missiles, whether intercontinental or tactical, have the appearance of a “sharpened pencil.” A hypersonic one resembles a giant shark with a cut off nose.

How did the US-Russian conflict over weapons begin?

US President Donald Trump on September 19 duringa pre-election rally in Minnesota said that Russia has created its hypersonic weapon based on information stolen during the administration of his predecessor Barack Obama

Trump reminded his supporters that Russia hasthere is a "super-duper-hypersonic missile" that develops a speed five times faster than a normal one. According to him, the United States has a rocket flying at a much higher speed.

But Russia received this information (about technologydevelopment of a hypersonic missile) from the Obama administration, Russia stole this information. Did you know about this? Russia received this information and then created it. 

Donald Trump, President of the United States

On the same day, Russian President VladimirIn honor of the Day of the Gunsmith, Putin spoke via video link with the developer of the Avangard missiles, honorary general designer of NPO Mashinostroyenia, Herbert Efremov.

During this conversation, he stated that Russiawas forced to start developing hypersonic weapons due to the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. According to him, large-scale work began in 2004. Then the president of the United States was George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor and a Republican just like Trump.

The US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in 2002 forcedRussia to begin developing hypersonic weapons. We had to create these weapons in response to the US deployment of a strategic missile defense system, which in the future would be capable of actually neutralizing and nullifying our entire nuclear potential. 

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

What else is important to know?

Avangard - Russian hypersonic missiles,which, according to the Russian president, move at a speed 27 times the speed of sound. Putin first mentioned them in December 2018, and then stated that such Russian weapons allow maintaining strategic balance and stability in the world.

Trump talked about the "super duper rocket" that17 times faster than all existing ones, in May. Later, the Pentagon clarified that the US President was referring to the March tests, during which the speed of the rocket was 17 times the speed of sound. At the same time, according to CNN, US developments are inferior to Russian or Chinese ones, and will hardly enter service until 2023.

And what does Herbert Efremov, who personally came up with the idea of ​​​​creating the Avangard hypersonic unit, say?

Former general director of the military-industrial corporation NPO Mashinostroyenia Herbert Efremov gave an interview, where he spoke in more detail about his work.

The work of Herbert Efremov was classified more60 years. He started out as an engineer in one of the leading rocket and space firms of the USSR and Russia (OKB-52 of the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry, now the military-industrial complex NPO Mashinostroyenia), where satellites and manned spacecraft were developed. General Designer, and later General Director of NPO, Efremov participated in the development of the UR-100 intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Almaz manned orbital station, the naval space reconnaissance system and the Proton series of scientific satellites-laboratories. The Bastion missile system, which was used by Russia in Syria, was also created under the leadership of Efremov. Since 2007, the designer has been holding the position of Science Advisor at the NGO.

According to Efremov, Vladimir Putin set the task of creating Avangard as a combat system in 2004. But experiments have been carried out since the 1980s, during an active conflict with America. 

Experts believe that"Avangard"will be very noticeable, because when flyingwill heat up to very high temperatures and will glow in the infrared range. To this Efremov replied that, despite appearances, it would be impossible to hit the rocket in any case due to its high speed.

Another critic of the Russian hypersonic missile,engineer Andrei Gorbachevsky, in a conversation with Novaya Gazeta, claims that on approaching the target, the Avangard's speed will already be lower than hypersonic, including due to maneuvering.

Another Russian development, which was tested on October 6, is the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile.

Yesterday at 7:15 am from the water areaIn the White Sea, the frigate “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov”, as part of flight tests, for the first time fired a hypersonic cruise missile “Zircon” at a sea target located in the Barents Sea.

Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff

"Zircon" (3M22) belongs to the categoryhypersonic weapons. On its trajectory, it is capable of developing tremendous speed (about Mach 9). The Zircon hypersonic missile is positioned as an anti-ship missile. Today, there are no means in the world that could effectively intercept these types of weapons. It is also important to note that today only the Russian Federation has such a weapon.

What weapons are there in the US?

The Americans, in turn, continue testing the X-51A Waverider hypersonic cruise missile. True, its speed is significantly lower than that of the Avangard - no more than 7,500 km / h (about Mach 6).

The Pentagon plans to use the missile as part of a rapid global strike strategy, which implies the ability to attack any target around the globe within one hour.

The main targets in Washington are called the NorthKorea and terrorist groups that may seize weapons of mass destruction. However, Russia and China believe that the latest American development could be directed against them.

In the United States, hypersonic projects have developed as part ofPrompt Global Strike Initiative. At the same time, two competing developments were tested - Advanced HypersonicWeapon (AHW) and HypersonicTechnologyVehicle 2 (HTV-2). Of these, only one test of the AHW in 2011 was successful, although there is no detailed information about it. However, the last test launch in 2014 was unsuccessful.

It is also reported that the United States is collaborating withAustralia in the framework of the research project HIFiRE (Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program). There have already been several launches of hypersonic aircraft, and in July 2017, the developers managed to reach Mach 7.5. Another hypersonic project, Tactical Boost Glide (TBG), developed on the experience of HTV-2 and funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), has already spent $ 147 million.

What about the super-super-rocket?

"Super-duper-rocket", the appearance of which earlierannounced by US President Donald Trump, is an AGM-183A hypersonic missile created in the interests of the US Air Force. This was stated by a military expert and editor-in-chief of the magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland" Viktor Murakhovsky.

He revealed the characteristics of the AGM-183A: it should reach a maximum speed of Mach 20, its estimated firing range will be about 900 km.

According to the expert, there is no breakthrough in such a rocket,since the creation uses well-known materials and technologies. In fact, this is an aeroballistic rocket launched from an air carrier. It is accelerated by a solid-propellant stage, and then the hypersonic unit itself flies along a ballistic trajectory, Murakhovsky described.

What's the bottom line?

Let us note that in Russia they talk primarily aboutnuclear equipment of hypersonic weapons, in the USA - about non-nuclear weapons, and in China they do not say anything directly. As for other countries, for example, in France, the next generation of nuclear-powered air-launched cruise missiles is planned to be hypersonic. It is possible that in the future the situation will change, and everyone will come to the “dual purpose” of hypersonic weapons.

Now the most important task remains to promotearms control initiatives in the area of ​​conventional long-range precision weapons, which are strategic non-nuclear weapons. And hyperhype can be a good catalyst for such a discussion.

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