Hypersonic weapons

 Hypersonic weapons 

Hypersonic word meaning 

relating to speeds of more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5).

they can travel within the atmosphere and can manoeuvre पैंतरेबाज़ी midway which combined with their high speeds make their detection and interception extremely difficult.

news 

nuclear-capable hypersonic 

In August, China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that circled the globe, demonstrating an advanced space capability.

Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile 

 Russia was able to launch a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from a submarine which hit a target 350 kms away. 

While the U.S. 

also has active hypersonic development programmes, it is lagging behind China and Russia.

India

operates approximately 12 hypersonic wind tunnels and is capable of testing speeds of up to Mach 13.

Dinakar Peri

What are hypersonic weapons?

They are manoeuvrable weapons that can fly at speeds of at least Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. 

The speed of sound 

is Mach 1

 supersonic  

and speeds above Mach I are supersonic 

 hypersonic

and speeds above Mach 5 are hypersonic.

 Hypersonic weapons 

travel within the atmosphere and can manoeuvre midway which combined with their high speeds make their detection and interception extremely difficult. 

cannot detect

This means that radars and air defences cannot detect them till they are very close and have only little time to react.

 new class of threat 

Hypersonic missiles are a new class of threat because

•  they are capable both of manoeuvring and of flying faster than 5,000 kilometres per hour,
•  which would enable such missiles to penetrate most missile defences and to further compress the timelines for response by a nation under attack,
•  says a 2017 book Hypersonic Missile Nonproliferation published by RAND Corporation.

What is the status of Russian, Chinese and U.S. programmes?

Russia 

 Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile system 

According to Russian news agency TASS, the Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile system was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1 

and has an operating range of over 2,000 km. 

The basic carrier of the missile is the MiG-31K fighter jet as well as the Tu-22M3 bomber.

in early October, Russia announced that it had successfully test launched a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from a Severodvinsk submarine deployed in the Barents Sea which hit a target 350 kms away.

 China 

Last October, top U.S. military officer Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff confirmed that China had conducted a test of a hypersonic weapon which he termed was “close to a Sputnik moment” and was “very concerning”,  

referring to the event in 1957 when the Soviet Union put the first satellite in space.

 nuclear-capable hypersonic missile  

 Earlier in the month, The Financial Times had reported that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise. 

This has put the spotlight

However, China has denied that it was nuclear capable. This has put the spotlight on the global development of hypersonic weapons by several countries, especially the advancements made by China and Russia.

US

The U.S. has tested hypersonic weapons for decades. The first vehicle to exceed Mach 5 was a two-stage rocket launched in 1949 which reached a speed of Mach 6.7, under Project Bumper. 

While the U.S. has active hypersonic development programmes, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) memo said - 

 it was lagging behind China and Russia because “most U.S. hypersonic weapons, in contrast to those in Russia and China, are not being designed for use with a nuclear warhead.”

 The U.S. is now looking to accelerate its own programmes, though it is unlikely to field an operational system before 2023. 

The Pentagon’s budget request for hypersonic research for financial year 2022 is $3.8 billion, up from $3.2 billion it requested a year earlier.

 The Missile Defence Agency additionally requested $247.9 million for hypersonic defence.

However, as stated by the U.S. Principal Director for Hypersonics Mike White, the Department of Defence has not yet made a decision to acquire hypersonic weapons and is instead developing prototypes to assist in the evaluation of potential weapon system concepts and mission sets.

Debunking some of the claims surrounding hypersonic weapons, Physicists David Wright and Cameron Tracy wrote in the Scientific American dated August 1, 2021 stating their studies indicate that hypersonic weapons “may have advantages in certain scenarios, but by no means do they constitute a revolution.” 

 new arms race  

“Many of the claims about them are exaggerated or simply false. And yet the widespread perception that hypersonic weapons are a game-changer has increased tensions among the U.S., Russia and China, driving a new arms race and escalating the chances of conflict,” they wrote. The U.S. has six hypersonic programmes, divided among the Air Force, Army and Navy, according to them.

What is the status in other countries?

The CRS Memo noted that although the United States, Russia, and China possess the most advanced hypersonic weapons programmes, a number of other countries —

 including Australia, India, France, Germany, and Japan — are also developing hypersonic weapons technology. 

India

operates approximately 12 hypersonic wind tunnels and is capable of testing speeds of up to Mach 13, according to CRS. 

Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) programme 

“Reportedly, India is also developing an indigenous, dual-capable hypersonic cruise missile as part of its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) programme and successfully tested a Mach 6 scramjet in June 2019 and September 2020,” the memo stated. 

This test was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and demonstrated the scramjet engine technology, a major breakthrough.

 In a scramjet engine

, air goes inside the engine at supersonic speed and comes out at hypersonic speeds.

 A hypersonic version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is also under development.

source the hindu