Trump’s “super duper rocket” will face a serious problem
US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — US President Donald Trump spoke about the development of a “superfood missile,” which supposedly will be the fastest hypersonic missile in the world. According to him, it should fly three times faster than the advanced developments of Russia or China. The head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin reacted to Trump’s statement with a joke. How formidable will the new US weapon be and what characteristics will it possess?
On Saturday, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin responded to a statement by US President Donald Trump about the development of a “super-duper missile,” which should fly 17 times faster than missiles previously available in the United States arsenal. “No, well, against the“ super-duper rocket ”we have nothing to catch. Surrender! ” – says Rogozin on Twitter.
On Friday, Trump participated in the ceremony of presenting the new flag of the US Space Forces. In particular, he spoke about the creation in the country of “incredible military equipment of an unprecedented level”. The missile, he said, should not only be the fastest in the country’s arsenal, but also fly three times faster than the fastest missiles in Russia or China. “We have no choice, we have to do it, given the opponents that we have,” Trump said.
Trump’s statement about the “super-duper missile” (super-duper missile) began to be vigorously discussed in American social networks. User attention is no coincidence. Back in January, when Trump unveiled the Cosmic Forces logo, critics drew attention to the similarity of the emblem with the logo of the Star Trek series – the arrowhead surrounded by an orbital object and set against a starry background. At the same time, few people heeded the arguments that the emblem was used by space organizations of the US Air Force back in 1961 – before the broadcast of the first Star Trek show.
This time one of the users found Trump’s words similar to the name of the “children’s special menu for breakfast” in a roadside cafe. “Say thank you that he doesn’t fold his fingers with a gun and doesn’t make a bang-bang,” the user sneers.
Some commentators felt ashamed of the head of state, whose “the roof went completely.” “I am not opposed to calling them” super-duper missiles “until they work, and he himself does not get a joystick in the Oval Office and does not start playing with them,” said one message.
Note that under the “super-duper rocket” Trump could mean AGM-183A, which is being developed by the US Air Force. As said military expert Viktor Murakhovski, no breakthrough was not there and “as such statements are larger in HYIP and PR”. The missile “should reach a maximum speed of up to 20 Machs, its estimated firing range will be about 900 km.” According to the expert, we are talking about an “aeroballistic missile” that “starts from an air carrier”. The solid-fuel stage provides acceleration, then “the hypersonic block itself flies along a ballistic trajectory.” To create a rocket using well-known technologies and materials.
Murakhovsky doubted the ability of the warhead to maintain high speed at an altitude below 4-5 km. Most likely, Trump, speaking of her speed, had in mind a flight with an accelerator in the stratosphere. The United States is unlikely to achieve a controlled flight at a speed of about 20 sound speeds.
The first successful tests of the prototype of the hypersonic missile AGM-183A (or ARRW “Air-based Rapid Response Weapons”) by the US Air Force were carried out last June with the participation of the B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. In December of that year, Lockheed Martin signed an almost billion-dollar contract to create a new hypersonic missile for the US Air Force as part of the ARRW project. The company will have to design the design, conduct tests and prepare the product for mass production in 2022.
Now hypersonic developments are available in Russia and China. The fact that it is precisely with these types of weapons that the future became apparent in the spring of 2018, when President Vladimir Putin presented the Avangard and Dagger hypersonic systems in a message to the Federal Assembly . Later it became known about the development of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile . Now in Russia several dozen projects in the field of hypersound are being developed.
According to the military, the hypersonic planning wing unit “Vanguard” can exceed the speed of sound by 20 times (20 Mach numbers). The first regiment, armed with a strategic missile system with this unit, is deployed in the Yasnensky missile division in the Orenburg region.
The missile of the dagger hypersonic complex is guaranteed to overcome all existing air defense and missile defense systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of up to 2 thousand kilometers. The first MiG-31K fighter-interceptor squadron armed with “Daggers” took up combat duty in December 2017.
The Zircon hypersonic missile will develop a speed of nine Machs, and the flight range will be more than 1 thousand kilometers. The complex is planned to be adopted in 2020-2021. In addition to the marine version, Putin mentioned the development of a ground-based Zircon.
Previously, the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, argued that Washington is conducting “more innovative” development of hypersonic weapons than Russia and China. There are many hypersonic studies in the United States. One of the leading projects is the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), reminiscent of the Russian Avangard. A significant difference in the absence of a nuclear warhead and a shorter range. For long distances, the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) project is intended.
Information about Chinese hypersonic developments is very scarce. Last fall, Beijing showed a DF-17 ballistic missile (Dongfeng-17), the warhead of which supposedly can develop hypersonic speed. But there was no official data on successful missile tests. According to unofficial information, during the tests, the rocket flew 1400 km. The hypersonic aircraft with which it was equipped covered 60 km at low altitude. As a result, weapons hit the targets with extremely high accuracy and the PRC can take the complex into service this year.
In 2018, the Chinese Academy of Aerospace Dynamics announced the successful testing of the Sinkun-2 (Starry Sky) hypersonic wave plan. Due to the launching rocket system, it is able to maneuver at hypersonic speeds of the order of 10 Mach numbers.
Meanwhile, Konstantin Sivkov, vice president of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, has no doubt about the ability of the United States to create effective hypersonic weapons. “The United States is technologically advanced and, of course, will be able to create hypersonic missiles. Moreover, they already have a Boeing X-37 unmanned aerial vehicle.
But a hypersonic plane provides only delivery of the warhead to a given point. It will take at least 10 years to create a rocket.”
According to the expert’s forecast, in terms of speed characteristics, the American rocket will be “something similar to our Zircon with a difference of up to two speeds of sound in the direction of decreasing or increasing”.
“The missile’s range will also be approximately comparable to our Zircon.” The accuracy of the shooting is unlikely to be very different. First of all, it will be intended for striking ground targets. At sea, it will be less relevant, since aircraft carriers are the main instrument of warfare on the water for the US,” the source explained.
However, the Americans can create this missile in the anti-ship version with a launch weight of up to two tons. Most likely, carrier-based aircraft and strategic bombers will become its carrier. “Naturally, these missiles can also be deployed on US surface ships and submarines. Perhaps it will be presented with requirements for deployment on Mk 41 launchers. Then its mass-dimensional characteristics should be close to the characteristics of Tomahawk cruise missiles. The firing range of such a rocket is unlikely to exceed 500-800 kilometers,” Sivkov suggested.
The only serious problem when creating a “super-duper missile” will be the provision of a guidance system. Americans need to solve the problem of the homing head in conditions of the appearance of an “ion lens”, that is, an ion cloud, in the bow of the rocket.
“In Russia, this problem has been solved for a long time. If the United States manages to solve it, then the Americans will receive a full-fledged anti-ship missile. Otherwise, the rocket can be used only against ground targets,” summed up Sivkov.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.
