Posted on 08/19/2022 5:44:16 AM PDT by Navy Patriot
What is its propulsion and how fast does it achieve hypersonic speed?
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At hypersonic speed, the propulsion system could be a ramjet, which is a shaped fuel reaction chamber where oxygen from the atmosphere is compressed, combined with fuel, and ignited. Picture a jet engine minus the turbine blades. To work, you need to boost the aircraft to hypersonic speed using a solid fuel booster or conventional jet engine.
non powered final portion of the ballistic flight.
Additionally, in modern defense lexicon hypersonic primarily references weapon systems employing ramjet propulsion. China, India & Russia have deployed such weapons while the US continues to feign failure of ongoing 'tests', highlighting the low value the USN places on such conventional weapons.
Terminal defense (CIWS & ESSM) is the only effective measure we have (marginal) until lasers make the next developmental leap. Hence the focus by DARPA/USN on energy-based weapon systems. In the meantime, ESSM is being continually upgraded to meet the threat, including both active seekers and a proposed tripling of range under the ESSM Development Consortium.
So it needs propulsion first before it works?
I just don’t find the term ‘hypersonic missiles’ to be very credible.
My only question is: Does anybody have a missile that can be land launched that can achieve Mach 6-10 for any distance outside of a few hundred miles? And how long does it take for this missile to achieve that speed?
Ok. Two questions.
Just seems that this is science fiction as a bogey man.
Appreciate you taking the time to answer them.
The drag must be enormous at low level altitude. Physics says no. I think. Lol.
Hypersonic missiles are meant to be able to maneuver at high speeds to make interception by anti-missile batteries (like the Patriot) ineffective. Their high speed makes response time minimal. Ballistic missiles follow an arching path, which is relatively easy to track and defend if you have the technology. Cruise missiles fly extremely low and slow, and depend on terrain avoidance maneuvers to avoid radar. The US has developed, and is starting to deploy directed energy weapons (lasers) to counter hypersonic missiles. We already have some in the field being tested on ships, and on vehicle sized platforms. The challenge is to shrink the size and control the heat, but we have supposedly overcome that by operating several lasers in tandem on a sort of daisy chain so that each smaller laser dissipates heat much better than one large laser.
From what I’ve read about the energy weapons, they’re the real deal. I suppose you have to be in sight line though. Unless they are deployed on satellites.
We should just rebuild Tesla’s death ray and destroy a Chinese empty city to let them know we mean business.
As the father of a sailor who will soon be deployed on the USS Ronald Reagan I sure as hell hope the Navy has an answer for these hypersonic weapons.
“Putin lies
He is not the leader of a superpower arsenal”
But do we not all lie, when one thinks hard about it?
Duper-supersonic missiles aren’t real. It’s just nonsense that Russian propaganda blasts to very gullible.
That’s great!
OK, now you're asking questions that requrire more detailed answers.
Generally speaking, yes, lower altitude = more drag, however vehicle shape has a lot to do with it.
Ramjets operate better at higher speeds and can adjust air intake to their advantage at higher altitudes.
BUT very low altitudes, speed and maneuverability make missiles hard to intercept.
So designers "adapt" Physics to the task by vehicle shape, guidance surface shape, Resonance created by specific speed and, if necessary, air intake size and shape.
Now you need to sort this info into very specific areas of missile technology because not everything fits everything.
For instance, Pulse jets operate at different resonances (the pulse) depending on speed and atmospheric temperature and density, and the high tech engines can adjust, whereas the V-1 engine could not adjust, it was fixed.
Thanks. Interesting that you mentioned resonance. Could there be a way to project sound waves to them up?
Seriously, I don’t know much. Basically I read things and formulate my own smell test. Hypersonic missiles smell of three day old fish to me.
So I’m very grateful that you entertain my questions.
I should say the real world application and efficacy of hypersonic missiles don’t pass the smell test.
to blow them up.
We have already witnessed the demise of the Capital ships, the ships classed as "Dreadnoughts".
The name "Dreadnought" means No Fear, think about that.
The point is that making a hypersonic weapon as described is real and feasible and has been for many decades. It is merely a question of cost and military utility. 1000 lbs on a bomb or cruise missile is a whole lot cheaper and just as effective - if it gets there - as one delivered hypersonically. But detection and defense is much much harder against a hypersonic missile and so the cost may be worth it. For instance in air defense suppression that threshhold was crossed long ago. You want to take out a rader before it can operate long enough to be effective in targeting you air attack.
Fair enough. Naval power is always a generation away from being obsolete.
Naval power is always best far away from land. Aircraft carriers project power by being away from land. Subs are pretty much the only vessel that can make a difference in a land war.
Even blockades are easily defeated as China will probably find out.
And like three day old fish, they will kill you.
They are very real, very deadly and hard to defeat.
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