Hypersonic glide vehicle

A hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) is a type of warhead for ballistic missiles that can maneuver and glide at hypersonic speed. It is used in conjunction with ballistic missiles to significantly change their trajectories after launch. Conventional ballistic missiles follow a predictable ballistic trajectory and are vulnerable to interception by the latest anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. The in-flight maneuverability of HGVs makes them unpredictable, allowing them to effectively evade air defenses.[1][2][3] As of 2022, hypersonic glide vehicles are the subject of an arms race.[4]

Chinese DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle mounted on the DF-17 ballistic missile.

Countermeasures

Boost-glide weapons are generally designed to avoid existing missile defense systems, either by continually maneuvering or by flying at lower altitudes to reduce warning time. This generally makes such weapons easier to intercept using defensive systems intended for lower-altitude "low-tier" targets. Flying at lower speeds than short-range ballistic missile warheads makes them easier to attack.[5] Those that approach with very low terminal attack profiles are even subject to attack by modern hypervelocity guns and railguns.[6]

However, Russian sources claim that its Avangard HGV travels at Mach 27 and "constantly changes its course and altitude while it flies through the atmosphere, chaotically zigzagging on its path to its target, making it impossible to predict the weapon's location", thus making it supposedly "invulnerable to interception".[7] However these claims are problematic as hypersonic glide vehicles suffer from several known issues. Due to their speed, an envelope of ionized gas forms around the glide vehicle in atmosphere, making base-to-vehicle communication impossible. This cloud of ionized gas is easy for satellites to detect and track. Furthermore, the heat generated at those velocities renders external sensors inoperable and necessitates the detachment of HGVs from their carrier ballistic missiles at the upper limits of the atmosphere to avoid their burning up.

Hypersonics, like the Avangard HGV, generally use scramjet engines to achieve hypersonic speeds. Scramjet engines function only when the glide vehicle reaches mach 4.5. These engines are disengaged as the HGV enters the terminal phase of its flight. Failure to deactivate the engines would cause a catastrophic build up of heat in the vehicle as the atmosphere becomes denser during reentry, prematurely destroying the vehicle. Therefore, the terminal phase of an HGV's re-entry is similar to that of a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle. For instance, the Avangard would not hit its target while "zig-zagging" at Mach 27, but rather would impact at a velocity under Mach 4 and on a linear trajectory. The superior evasion capabilities that HGVs employ are largely limited to the upper atmospheric flight span.[8][9][10]

Existing or in development

 Russia

 China

  • DF-ZF (developed and deployed) / Mach 5-10[12]

 United States

 India

 Japan

 France

  • VMAX (in development)[16]

 North Korea

See also

References
  1. Zastrow, Mark (4 November 2021). "How does China's hypersonic glide vehicle work?". Astronomy.com. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  2. U.S. vs. China: The Race to Build Hypersonic Missiles | WSJ, retrieved 17 November 2022
  3. "From Sänger to Avangard – hypersonic weapons come of age". Royal Aeronautical Society. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  4. "'National pride is at stake.' Russia, China, United States race to build hypersonic weapons". science.org. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  5. "Introducing The Ballistic Missile Defense Ship". Aviation Week. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2019. The downside is when the [HGV] warhead nears its target, it has less speed and altitude and is therefore more easily intercepted by low-tier interceptors, including potential rail guns.
  6. Tadjdeh, Yasmin (26 January 2018). "Secretive Pentagon Office Shares Details About Hypervelocity Missile Defense Weapon". National Defense.
  7. "Борисов: испытания комплекса "Авангард" доказали его способность разгоняться до 27 Махов" (in Russian). TASS. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  8. Kunertova, Dominika. "Hypersonic Weapons: Fast, Furious…and Futile?". RUSI. RUSI. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  9. Brockmann, Kolja. "A matter of speed? Understanding hypersonic missile systems". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. SIPRI. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  10. Wright, David. "The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons". The Scientific American. The Scientific American. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  11. Avangard, CSIS Missile Threat, https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/avangard/
  12. Gady, Franz-Stefan (28 April 2016). "China Tests New Weapon Capable of Breaching US Missile Defense Systems". The Diplomat. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  13. Sanjib Kr Baruah (16 December 2022). "Mystery test: Agni-5 or hypersonic glide vehicle?". The Week. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  14. "Is India developing a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle?". Ajay Lele. IDSA. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  15. "Japan unveils its hypersonic weapons plans".
  16. "Outre le planeur VMAX, la France cherche à développer un "aéronef de combat hypersonique"". 15 September 2019.
  17. Gale, Alastair. "What Are Hypersonic Missiles and Who's Developing Them?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
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