Complex Air Defense: Countering the Hypersonic Missile Threat
On February 7, CSIS published a new report on defense against hypersonic weapons.
Tag:
hypersonic
28 items, Page 1 of 3
Complex Air Defense: Countering the Hypersonic Missile Threat
Defending against hypersonic missiles is strategically necessary, technologically possible, and fiscally affordable, but it will not be easy. Its realization will require different approaches and new ways of thinking from those employed for legacy ballistic and cruise missile defense missions. Hypersonic weapons combine the speed and range of ballistic missiles with the low-altitude and maneuverable...
China’s Hypersonic Future
China maintains the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the world. Since the end of the Cold War, Beijing has rapidly modernized its missile force, growing from a small arsenal of cumbersome, inaccurate ballistic missiles into a formidable force of precision-guided ballistic and cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and—most recently—hypersonic weapons. China’s deployment of hypersonic...
South Korea Unveils Hypersonic Cruise Missile Prototype
On December 3, South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and defense company Hanwha publicly unveiled a model hypersonic cruise missile. The missile, known as the Hycore, is equipped with a two-stage rocket booster. It is scheduled for flight testing in 2022 and enter service in the mid-2020s.
Booster Rocket Failure Cuts U.S. Hypersonic Test Short
On October 21, a U.S. Department of Defense hypersonic vehicle test failed after the system’s booster malfunctioned shortly after launch. According to a Pentagon statement, the hypersonic system being tested was not associated with the Army/Navy-developed Common Hypersonic Glide Body weapon currently under development. The flight test attempt reportedly took place in Alaska, but officials...
China Tests Orbital Hypersonic Weapon
In July and August, China tested two hypersonic weapons, according to “people familiar with US intelligence assessments.” The first weapon, tested July 27, incorporated a fractional orbital bombardment system-like launch vehicle, which partly orbited the Earth before releasing a hypersonic weapon that reentered the atmosphere. Officials stated the weapon “missed its target by about two-dozen...
Russia Launches Zircon Hypersonic Missiles from Submarine
On October 3 and 4, Russia’s defense ministry announced its first and second flight tests of a Zircon hypersonic missile from attack submarine Severodvinsk (K-560). In the first test, Russia’s navy fired the missile from the surfaced submarine in the Barents Sea, striking a “hypothetical sea target.” In a second test, announced October 4, Severodvinsk...
North Korea Launches Hypersonic Missile Into Sea: State Media
On September 28, North Korea launched a missile from the country’s northern Jagang Province in what state-run media described as a test of a “hypersonic missile.” According to South Korean security officials, the weapon flew less than 200 km and did not follow a ballistic trajectory, exhibiting “different flight features from the missiles the North...
US Successfully Tests Air-breathing Hypersonic Weapon
On September 27, the U.S. Defense Department announced the successful flight test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC), a scramjet-propelled hypersonic missile. In the test, conducted the week of September 19, the hydrocarbon-fueled missile successfully released from an aircraft before cruising to speeds over Mach 5. HAWC is a DARPA-U.S. Air Force technology demonstration...
Hypersonic Strike and Defense
On June 2, Tom Karako spoke with Mike White, Principal Director for Hypersonics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering OUSD(R&E). The discussion reviewed the programmatic and budgetary implications of both hypersonic strike and defense.