Defense against Hypersonic Glide Vehicles

[Scott Kenny]

MDA saying hypersonic missiles difficult to counter due to their ability to maneuver in flight though they are planning to field a new version of the SM-6 in the interim before the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) reaches operational capability in 2032. Would be correct in assuming that driving the GPI requirement to be a big and very expensive missile with a range of approx. 1,000 miles?

Every analysis of intercepting HGVs I've seen says that the launcher needs to be within about 10km of the target to be able to make the interception AT ALL.

So either you have a relatively small number of expensive super long range missile that can pop the hypersonics while they're out of the atmosphere and unable to maneuver, or you have an enormous number of individually relatively cheap point defense missiles. Both alternatives are expensive as total programs.

I had an idea for a drone that was pretty fast climbing and pretty fast in general (basically a cross between an F104 and a D21 drone with a couple of PAC3s on it or similar), just so you might be able to get away with basing the interceptors ~180km away from the objects to be protected. 2 minutes to climb to interception altitude and accelerate to M2.9+, 3 minutes to get over the defended area. But the interception geometry works out to needing to launch that drone when the HGV is ~1800km away!

 

[Forest Green]

Every analysis of intercepting HGVs I've seen says that the launcher needs to be within about 10km of the target to be able to make the interception AT ALL.

Without knowing the missile or target HGV that analysis isn't too helpful.

 

[sferrin]

Real answer is to intercept at mid-stage or earlier. Anything past that would be playing to the missile’s advantage.

Depends on the glide vehicle. Some start gliding WAY out. The problem is much like Boost Phase Intercept if you're not going after the glider.

 

[Forest Green]

Major progress repored in Next-Gen OPIR Missile Warning Program

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 01, 2024 - Space Systems Command (SSC) has reached a significant milestone with the successful delivery of the first mission payload for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) sensing

www.spacewar.com

 

[Forest Green]

SDA demos laser links crucial for future SATCOM, missile tracking network - Breaking Defense

Tournear said that the optical intersatellite link demonstration was final success in a trifecta of baseline challenges to SDA's plan to network hundreds of military satellites in LEO, as well as to eventually to integrate commercial satellites into the mix.

breakingdefense.com

 

[bobbymike]

Glide Phase Interceptor | Northrop Grumman

Glide Phase Interceptor is designed to detect, track, control, and engage hypersonic threats in the glide phase of the missile’s flight.

www.northropgrumman.com

 

[Forest Green]

Glide Phase Interceptor | Northrop Grumman

Glide Phase Interceptor is designed to detect, track, control, and engage hypersonic threats in the glide phase of the missile’s flight.

www.northropgrumman.com

From link:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1g-58CLtKk

 

[Josh_TN]

Glidebreaker looks like it is itself a biconical glider.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Glidebreaker looks like it is itself a biconical glider.

I mean, that is one of the simpler shapes for the speeds involved.

 

[Forest Green]

Space Force grants Northrop Grumman $1.8B to build missile warning birds for polar orbit​

Millennium Space Systems secures contract for additional Missile Track Custody satellites​

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/the-us-space-force.30157/post-721171

 

[zjz]

Confronting the Hypersonic Threat Demands a United Front | Aviation Week Network

Hypersonic missile defense requires global cooperation. L3Harris is leading the charge through strategic international partnerships in space-based MW/MD technologies.

aviationweek.com

 

[Forest Green]

Related and interesting:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aeIkDhxSWE

 

[Forest Green]

Sierra Space completes PDR for Missile Tracking Satellites

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 13, 2024 - Sierra Space has announced the successful completion of the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for missile warning and tracking satellites under a significant $740 million contract with the Space Devel

www.spacewar.com

 

[Forest Green]

Think fast: A missile-defense system built for speed

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 16, 2024 - Satellites positioned high above Earth transmit crucial data to the surface in under a second, appearing swiftly on a computer screen monitored by a U.S. Space Force operator. The operator's swift u

www.spacewar.com