How is this progress?
“It could be a real game changer, a 100 - 200lb payload traveling at hypersonic speeds (M>5) could impart unbelievable amounts of Kinetic Energy (think GigaJoules). They'll most likely equip it with varying payloads based on the target set (flechette warheads, penetrators, unitary warhead, etc.).”
W58/W72(23kg) 10-600 ton yield fitted to the AGM 62 is 12.5in in diameter
Or a W33 (110kg) 500ton-40KT which is 8in in diameter we destroyed Hiroshima with 13.5KT and Nagasaki with 15.2Kt for reference.
Mind you that these are total weights for the whole weapon system not the physics package as these were artillery shells most of the weight was in the shell casing needed to survive gun launch. A 2-point implosion device needs only 13kg of PU239 to achieve supercritical mass at that point tritium boosting can bring yields into the 10's of KT
While this is designed to be a conventional weapon system as with most conventional weapons if it will take 20-40kg to the target and is bigger than 5 inches around you can put a tactical nuke in it, this is what scares the willikers out of the leftists dove's & chicoms when you have 7000+ nuclear capable 2000 mile launch vehicles scattered around the planet no one anywhere is beyond our reach these make superb first strike weapons even with only conventional bunker buster type warheads with M-code GPS a sub 3meter CEP is plenty good to kill icbm silos and with a seeker based terminal guidance system mobile icbms are toast to, the boost glide profile is hard to hit with interceptors as any mach 6+ vehicle has the advantage in speed and G range, in the 80&'s we tested the MK500 evader at 100's in the boostglide mode still even at 300,000 feet without space based IR sensors queing a Thaad type system for warning the enemy will have only minutes from the time the radar horizon is crossed assuming no plasma based radar stelth or RAM coating is used to make they BGV stealthy the enemy has little chance of intercept this a game changer globally.