China Tests Hypersonic Glide Vehicle

[CoffmanStarter]

http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/21/d3/a0/00/supersonic-china-delivery-vehicle.si.jpg

China has successfully tested its first hypersonic missile delivery vehicle capable of penetrating US missile defense system and delivering nuclear warheads with record breaking speeds, Pentagon officials have confirmed.

The new hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), dubbed the WU-14 was allegedly spotted flying at record-breaking speeds during a flight test over China on January 9, an anonymous Pentagon official told the Washington Free Beacon.

The new weapon delivery system is reportedly designed to be launched as the final stage of China’s intercontinental ballistic missile, which would approach its target at a velocity of up to 10 times the speed of sound. Hypersonic speed range lies between Mach 5 and Mach 10, or 3,840 to 7,680 miles per hour.

More background here ...

RT NetWork Article : WU-14 HGV Test (http://rt.com/news/supersonic-china-delivery-vehicle-554/)

Article also quoted in The Times today ...

It would seem China has progressed it's development programme quicker than originally predicted by the US ... however vehicle "control" at these speeds (up to Mach 10) is still a challenge for all Countries (US, India and Russia) currently exploring this technology.

Good job we're cutting back our Defence Spending then :ugh:


Coff.

[Lonewolf_50]

How jolly, another arms race!

Well done to the Chinese for revving things back up.

[eastern wiseguy]

The USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) duel, aka Battle of the Ironclads, at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on March 9, 1862, was the first ironclad battle in naval warfare history and it rendered all wooden warships obsolete.
"This naval engagement also rendered every navy in the world obsolete."

How does the hypersonic glider fit in with current anti aircraft defence plans?

[Lima Juliet]

So this hypersonic glide vehicle - is it winch-launched or aero-towed? :}

[CoffmanStarter]

There's got to be a weak link somewhere Leon :p

[awblain]

If you're able to hit a satellite or a regular ballistic missile, then you should be able to hit that.

At such speeds turning isn't easy, and drag is a big issue.

[Willard Whyte]

Thankfully I'm able to laugh at those who deny the chicom threat, since I haven't got my head stuck so far up my ass I can't see what's going on.

Sleepwalking into submission, ****ing amazing.

[rh200]

It would seem China has progressed it's development programme quicker than originally predicted by the US

Thats because they most likely had a head start. Between electronic spying and Chinese honey pots, its saves a whole lot of ground work.:E and cheaper too:p

[Sun Who]

Awblain said:
If you're able to hit a satellite or a regular ballistic missile, then you should be able to hit that.

At such speeds turning isn't easy, and drag is a big issue. True, satellites tend to travel at or around 17000mph (depending on orbit) which is a considerably faster than the M10 posited for a hypersonic glide vehicle like this. However, this weapon will be doing those speeds much closer in and will therefore, have a much higher crossing rate, which is a bitch for targeting. Also, you don't know (with sufficient confidence) where it's going to come from, which also makes things tricky.

I think this is a real threat. I also think the only way to defeat it is at range, i.e. in country and that means SF, cyber, or (god forbid) conventional forces. Currently, with the possible exception of US SF, (which would be a one-shot deal in this instance) the west doesn't have the capability for the other two options, not against China, not without significant losses.

Brings the issues raised in this thread (http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/532066-cameron-dismisses-us-warning-defence-capability.html) into stark relief.

Sun.

[awblain]

I agree that it increases the chance of getting through, as I believe does the "low flying" Russian Topol, and allows a credible deterrent with fewer total missiles.

While you don't get as much time to see it coming over the horizon, it is easier to see it: it'll be much hotter than a higher vehicle, and any decoys need to be similar in weight and size, not just floating.

I suspect the best place to stop it would be not long before it arrives, having been tracked from where it departed.

It would require some upgrading of a credible defense, and so yes, I guess it is a threat - although a hypothetical one - since China already has enough missiles to overwhelm the existing US defense system.

[Sun Who]

It's not designed to come in low mate.
I'll be surprised if it has anything less than a 45deg approach and probably more like 60deg. You don't want to hit 'thick' atmosphere at those speeds until the very last moment.

Sun.

[glendalegoon]

we have been doing (we meaning USA ) hypersonic research for a very long time. The X15 was on the low end of hypersonic 50 years ago or so.

Control is the thing, speed is easy enough.

I will remind people we have been doing a great deal of laser research and may go to electronic interception.

[awblain]

New missiles are designed to have flatter trajectories. I mean "low" as compared with thousands of km high. If it descends more steeply than 45 degrees while above 100,000-200,000 feet, then I don't think it would be much different from a normal reentry vehicle.

[Sun Who]

If it descends more steeply than 45 degrees while above 100,000-200,000 feet, then I don't think it would be much different from a normal reentry vehicle. Except for being faster - it isn't.

Sun.

[awblain]

It can't easily be faster by flying lower though, certainly not on arrival - it's tough to beat something dropping from 5000km up when you're dropping from 100km up, unless its accelerating rocket sacrifices a lot of potential lifting capacity to get it there - as Topol does, making its ascent rather easier to see.

Ensuring accuracy while never fully leaving the atmosphere to allow precise star sightings and a known geodesic track will be a challenge too.

[Sun Who]

unless its accelerating rocket sacrifices a lot of potential lifting capacity to get it there - as Topol doesSS27 doesn't rely on lift and certainly isn't doing M10.
The Chinese hypersonic prototype is a high apogee, late dive, VERY fast re-entry vehicle. It doesn't rely on stealth or late detection, it relies on being bl00dy difficult to target as a consequence of its flight profile and sheer speed. Even with the possibility of DEW and/or electronic attack (which are, in my opinion, the way to go against this type of threat) it is (potentially) a very serious threat.

Sun.

[awblain]

You're right - Topol's fly faster, making them more practical.

High apogee? Then it'd be a duck shoot while it's going through that. High is slow.

You can't be fast and maneuvrable. You can't be unobservable at high speed in the atmosphere.

I can see its attraction at an intermediate range for frightening the underwear off India, but the US Navy should have a decent chance of seeing one off.
If the Chinese want to sink an aircraft carrier, then they have an array of submarine assets.