Posted on 10/30/2021 6:16:57 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The US Navy successfully tested a booster rocket motor to launch a hypersonic vehicle on Thursday. The test comes a week after China stunned the world with the launch of its hypersonic missile.
A "static firing" of the hypersonic rocket booster motor was conducted in Promontory, Utah, according to a Navy statement.
The US Navy "successfully conducted a second test of the First Stage Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) on October 28, 2021, in Promontory, Utah, as part of the development of the Navy's Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) offensive hypersonic strike capability and the Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)."
"Today's successful test brings us one step closer to the design validation of our new hypersonic missile that will be fielded by both the Navy and the Army," said Vice Adm. Johnny R. Wolfe Jr, Director, Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, which is the lead designer for the common hypersonic missile.
"We are on schedule for the upcoming flight test of the full common hypersonic missile. Our partners across government, industry, and academia are continuing the excellent work that is essential to providing a hypersonic capability to our warfighters as quickly as possible," said Wolfe.
The latest SRM test follows a series of ones validating the services' new hypersonic weapon. The last tests were on May 27 and August 25. The Navy said that this one focused on testing the first stage solid rocket motor included a thrust vector control system.
Last week, the services announced three hypersonic component prototypes were tested at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. A statement from the Pentagon at the time said the tests would help "inform the development of the Navy's Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) and the Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) offensive hypersonic strike." Flight tests of the booster rocket and hypersonic weapon are set for the second half of 2022.
The latest round of US tests comes just days after China stunned the world with its hypersonic missile launch. Even though Beijing later denied and downplayed it as a "routine spacecraft experiment," - General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Bloomberg TV the hypersonic developments from China are similar to a "Sputnik moment."
Also reported here:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-successfully-tests-hypersonic-booster-motor-utah-2021-10-29/
and here:
https://www.ntd.com/us-successfully-tests-hypersonic-booster-motor-in-utah_695513.html
and here:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-successfully-tests-hypersonic-booster-motor-in-utah_4076794.html
But does it kneel?
...how diverse is all this...? how many minorities, trannies, POCs, were involved in all this....?? didn’t the current CNO say something this week about the U.S.Navy being the most diverse service today....? I’m sure the People’s Liberation Army Navy are taking all this in....and laughing their asses off....
I bet General Milley is despondent over the fact that his Chi-com General buddy, didn’t give him a heads-up about that round-the-world missile launch. I thought they were tight.
It’s just a booster. It’s not like we haven’t been building boosters for 70 years, and the headline makes it sound like we just landed on the moon or something.
Besides, I think these things are overhyped. Yes, they make defense harder, but I highly doubt their ability to juke in terminal phase, making them still vulnerable.
I believe the booster has failed on 4 of the last 5 system tests I read about. But yeah.
Wondering if stealth ICBM tech would trump hypersonic missile tech?
So what if the Chinese have hypersonic missiles, we have an Admiral with balls!
The only hypersonic test that will move the needle is the one where they close the tracking loop and hit a small target. But how does terminal guidance work for an object that’s moving so fast that it’s within a blinding envelope of ionized atmosphere?
My guess is the only viable scheme is inertial guidance for midcourse, and reducing velocity at the last moment before target engagement so the sensors can see something.
Where did you think China stole it from?
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