Current US hypersonic weapons projects. (General)

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TAOG said:
MPBD

An air launched, highly classified hypersonic program.

Two stage rocket （from GD's booster size table, MPBD is 28x 126 size, which may be the fisrt stage size and is simmilar to ARRW size. But MPBD has two stage), second stage motor with TVC acs. Seems like a big strike missile.

Also, development is at least begin from 2018, and still continous now. Raytheon seeked program director through 2022.11-2023.3.

Update:
Raytheon still seeking for MPBD director on 2023/8/30
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Update MPBD air launch hypersonic missile info:

1. Raytheon still seek program Director.

Picture 1 : post on 2022
Picture 2: post on 2023/8
Picture 3: post on 2024/6

2. MPBD consists of two stage solid rocket ( picture 4)

3. Aerojet Rocketdyne is also the sub contractor, and the MPBD has conduct 2 static test firing (picture 4-6).

4.NG is still develeloping second stage, and mention hypersonic again. ( Picture 7)

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It seems like A. Rocketdyne is developing the first stage and NG is for 2nd stage, Raytheon is main conctrator integrate AUR.
 

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So those photographs show what the production CPS booster-stack will look like?
 
TomcatViP said:
3500km? Has anyone crosschecked? I have a 10% higher value in latitude only (without even taking into consideration the longitudinal offset).
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Well... the original specification for CPS was 2000-3000nm (3700-5600km), but back then they were on about using a re-purposed Trident C4 with a stage removed or something.

I did get about 3,700km. Get a terminal seeker on it and it's game over.

From an earlier article:

www.twz.com

Army Shows First-Ever Footage Of New Hypersonic Missile In Flight And Impacting

The Army and Navy are jointly developing the weapon, which is set to be both services' first-ever operational hypersonic missile.
www.twz.com www.twz.com

The Army has still not said how fast the C-HGB flew during Flight Experiment 2 or how far it traveled. The Pentagon has previously said that this weapon would allow the Army and Navy to “strike targets hundreds and even thousands of miles away” and that it will get up to a speed of Mach 17.
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1719688425134.png

1719688564243.png
 
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Anyone guessing or estimating the missile’s dimensions and if the booster stack is purpose built or an existing modified SRM.

If I missed this early my apologies.
 
bobbymike said:
Anyone guessing or estimating the missile’s dimensions and if the booster stack is purpose built or an existing modified SRM.

If I missed this early my apologies.
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The booster stack is purpose built for the mission. The diameter of the booster is either 34.5” or 32.5”, I cannot remember off the top of my head.
 
scitechdaily.com

Revolution at Mach 10: NASA-Backed Hypersonic Jets Poised to Transform Space Travel

Wind Tunnel Study Reveals Hypersonic Jet Engine Flow Can Be Controlled Optically Researchers at the University of Virginia are exploring the potential of hypersonic jets for space travel, using innovations in engine control and sensing techniques. The work, supported by NASA, aims to enhance scramj
scitechdaily.com
As part of a new NASA-funded study, University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science researchers published data in the June issue of the journal Aerospace Science and Technology that showed for the first time that airflow in supersonic combusting jet engines can be controlled by an optical sensor. The finding could lead to more efficient stabilization of hypersonic jet aircraft.

In addition, the researchers achieved adaptive control of a scramjet engine, representing another first for hypersonic propulsion. Adaptive engine control systems respond to changes in dynamics to keep the system’s overall performance optimal.
 
bobbymike said:
Anyone guessing or estimating the missile’s dimensions and if the booster stack is purpose built or an existing modified SRM.

If I missed this early my apologies.
Click to expand...
Diameter is 34.5in (876mm), the length is probably at least 10m. I had a diagram somewhere estimating length but the site search engine is currently broken.
 
bobbymike said:
Anyone guessing or estimating the missile’s dimensions and if the booster stack is purpose built or an existing modified SRM.

If I missed this early my apologies.
Click to expand...
Using this image on full size on a 27in monitor, I measured the width at 10.5mm and the length at 130mm. BUT, there is a slight slant here from top to bottom, so both estimates are conservative. Either way, it's about Pershing II height!

34.5in = 876.3mm
(130/10.5) x 876.3mm = 10.85m

1719763213910.png

16.5 small squares wide and 200 high.

(200/16.5) x 876.3mm = 10.62m

BUT: Slight slant so ~10.7m

1719763774762.png
 
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Moose said:
CPS All Up Round test was successful. Was launched from a stand rather than an Army or Navy launcher, but a good step.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1806788817543963053
https://twitter.com/x/status/1806788817543963053
View: https://twitter.com/AirPowerNEW1/status/1806788817543963053?t=kFE5Et-P2PQ4j8fbMorCBw&s=19
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Is it just me or is the nose cone far more streamlined than the renders? It is usually depicted as having a blunter nose optimized for underwater launch.
 
Josh_TN said:
Is it just me or is the nose cone far more streamlined than the renders? It is usually depicted as having a blunter nose optimized for underwater launch.
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It is significantly longer than you would expect for a traditional missile. CHGB drives the length of the nose cone/fairing. The initial test flights of the glide body were on significantly larger diameter launchers which partially/fully obfuscated the length of the glide body.
 
This seems like the right thread for the below Defense Updates video concerning a US test of satellite tracking of hypersonic missiles:


The US has reached a crucial milestone.
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According to the Missile Defense Agency., the Defense Department’s advanced missile tracking satellites logged their first views of a hypersonic flight test.Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) satellites were able to track a hypersonic system.
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MDA didn’t disclose the date of the flight, which took off from Wallops Island in Virginia.The agency said in a June 14 statement, “Initial reports show the sensors successfully collected data after launch. MDA will continue to assess flight data over the next several weeks.”
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Viewers may note, that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Development Agency (SDA) are actively working on components of a hypersonic missile defense system to protect against hypersonic weapons and other emerging missile threats. This includes developing the tracking and transport layers of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) and various interceptor programs.
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In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why successful tracking of hypersonic flight by US HBTSS satellites is a crucial development ?
Click to expand...
#defenseupdates #hypersonicmissile #hypersonicweapon
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Chapters:
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00:11 INTRODUCTION
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02:15 HYPERSONIC WEAPON
Click to expand...
04:09 TRACKING HYPERSONIC THREATS
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06:49 AID IN HYPERSONIC WEAPON TESTING
Click to expand...
06:49 ANALYSIS
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A Tentative Fleet Plan said:
No but I've got these from 2020, before they wanted to fit it to Zumwalt:

View attachment 733338
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Interestingly that shot is around the same distance, 3700-3800km, although with a STARS-III (modded Polaris A-3) booster.
1719846385943.png

Also some stuff about an AHW test in here with the same STARS booster.
space.skyrocket.de

STARS

The STARS (Strategic Target System) are modified Polaris-A3 missiles used mainly for simulating missile warheads for SDIO (and follow-on organisations BMDO and MDA). The STARS-1 is a refurbished P…
space.skyrocket.de space.skyrocket.de
 
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