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Disruptive Technologies for the Militaries and Security pp 47–78Cite as

Hypersonic Weapons

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Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 132))

Abstract

The proprieties of sound have fascinated humans for a long time. The first known theoretical treatise on sound was provided by Sir Isaac Newton in his Principia (1687). Since then, scientists have been researching on quantifying the speed of sound.

This chapter is an updated version of author’s earlier work titled Hypersonic Weapons, IDSA Occasional Paper No. 46, 2017.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit time by a sound wave while propagating via an elastic medium. This speed depends on the tempterature of the air, and at 15 °C (at sea level), it is about 1225 km/h, while in dry air—say at 20 °C—it is 1236 km/h. Broadly, it could be said that a distance of one kilometre gets coverd in 3 s.

  2. 2.

    Supersonic speed is the rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1).

  3. 3.

    A solid-propellant ducted rocket is a hybrid-type propulsion system, comprising of a solid-propellant rocket motor with an inlet air duct. The rocket motor contains a solid propellant of low oxidizer content which, upon burning, releases a fuel-rich gas into an afterburner section. Ducted rocket engine (DRE) is one of the promising ramjet propulsion systems for the next-generation missiles since DRE enables supersonic flight with higher specific impulse than conventional solid rocket motors. Source: based on information available on Internet.

  4. 4.

    The top speed of the V-2 is given as 1600 metres per second (Dornberger, V-2, p. xix), and as 1700 metres per second, Naval Research Laboratory, Upper, cited in Ley, Rockets, pp. 596–597; the speed of sound at the pertinent altitudes is 295 metres per second, Kuethe and Chow, Foundations, p. 518, Heppenheimer [10].

  5. 5.

    Theoretically, as per the international definition of a space flight, the flight has to exceed 100 km altitude to earn these wings; only two X-15 pilots have crossed these speeds.

  6. 6.

    See [12].

  7. 7.

    See [13].

  8. 8.

    The speed for a particular vehicle, ship or aircraft is usually somewhat below maximum; this is comfortable and economical. ‘[T]he boat is powered by a pair of 425-hp diesels that push it along at a cruising speed of 28 knots’. The aircraft has a cruising speed of up to 530 km/h, with a maximum speed of 560 km/h.

  9. 9.

    The ballistic trajectory of a projectile is the path that a thrown or launched projectile or missile without propulsion takes under the action of gravity—neglecting all other forces such as friction from aerodynamic drag.

  10. 10.

    Please see [31].

  11. 11.

    MTCR restricts the proliferation of missiles and related technologies for those systems capable of carrying a 500-kg payload for at least 300 km.

  12. 12.

    Mr. Sudhir Mishra, MD and CEO of BrahMos Aerospace while interacting with the media on the sidelines of a Godrej Aerospace event at Mumbai, India on 05 December 2017.

  13. 13.

    Based on Acton [52].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, India

    Ajey Lele

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Appendix

Appendix

  • Hypersonic Weapons.

Tables 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 provide information about various programmes by the three major states making investments towards the development of hypersonic weapons. This information has been gathered based on various inputs available on the Internet, and some of the main sources have been quoted at places.

Table 3.4 China’s Hypersonic Missles
Full size table
Table 3.5 Russia’s Hypersonic Missiles
Full size table
Table 3.6 USA’s Hypersonic Missiles
Full size table

  • Note.

Russian case is notably unusual and lacks specificity in regard to the available information. Hence, some additional inputs are provided here for better clarity.

R-36s are the ICMBs and Space Launch Vehicles designed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Since all the R-36s were designed in Ukraine, Russia is planning to replace them with RS Sarmat which will be capable of holding 24 hypersonic vehicles like Yu-71/Yu-74.

The progression of the RS-36 missiles has been as follows:

  • R-36M (SS-18 Mod 1). This missile had a single 18 MT warhead or warhead with 8 MIRVs (4 × 0.4 MT and 4 × 1 MT). It had a range of 11,200 km and a CEP of 700 m. A total of 148 missiles were deployed between 1974 and 1983;

  • R-36M (SS-18 Mod 2). This missile had a warhead with 10 MIRVs with a blast yield of 0.4 MT. It had a range of 10,200 km with a CEP of 700 m. Only 10 of these missiles were deployed between 1976 and 1980;

  • R-36M (SS-18 Mod 3) was an upgrade of the Mod 1, carrying a single re-entry vehicle with blast yield of 25 MT. This missile had a range of 16,000 km and a CEP of 700 m. It was deployed between 1976 and 1986;

  • R-36MUTTKh (SS-18 Mod 4). The ‘UTTKh’ designation stands for ‘improved tactical and technical characteristics’. This missile introduced lighter weight MIRV warheads. Western intelligence suggests that it could carry as much as 14 MIRVs, but Russians denied that, saying that Mod 4 is capable of carrying 10 independent warheads with a blast yield of 0.5 MT. This missile has a range of 11,000 km and a CEP of 370 m. It was deployed in large numbers. A total of 278 missiles were deployed between 1979 and 2005;

  • R-36MUTTKh (SS-18 Mod 5). This missile had a single 20 MT warhead. It had a range of 16,000 km and a CEP of 200 m. It was deployed since 1986. A total of 30 missiles were deployed. All of them were retired by 2009;

  • R-36M2 Voevoda (SS-18 Mod 6). It was first deployed in 1988. It was deployed in both single warhead and MIRV confrigations with a blast yield of 0.75–1 MT. This missile has a range of 11,000 km with a CEP of 220 m. A total of 58 missiles were deployed. This missile is still in service with the Russian Strategic Missile Forces.

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Lele, A. (2019). Hypersonic Weapons. In: Disruptive Technologies for the Militaries and Security. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 132. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3384-2_3

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