Armi ipersoniche

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Non passa giorno che non appaiano nuovi progetti nel settore delle armi ipersoniche ...

Ora è il momento di THOR-ER ... iniziativa congiunta fra USA e Norvegia ...

... flightglobal.com ... https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/usa-norway-to-continue-thor-er-hypersonic-work/137987.article ...

 

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THOR-ER ... il comunicato del DoD ...

... https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2156251/dod-announces-new-allied-prototyping-initiative-effort-with-norway-to-continue/ ...

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Dopo essersi accorti di trovarsi a rimorchio di Russi e Cinesi ... gli Americani corrono ora ai ripari ...

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The Air Force is spearheading development of the Defense Department’s first hypersonic cruise missile, which would complement another weapon already underway.
The service on April 27 reached out to industry to seek input on a “solid rocket-boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic, conventional cruise missile” that can be launched from existing fighters and bombers. 
Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper told reporters April 29 the program will leverage work already done by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Air Force Research Laboratory, and partner with industry to speed the design into production.

... airforcemag.com ... USAF Launches Hypersonic Cruise Missile Effort ...

Anche qui ... flightglobal.com ... US Air Force launches study of another hypersonic cruise missile ...

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Armi ipersoniche ... a quanto pare il plasma non costituisce più una preoccupazione ... 

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The US Department of Defense (DoD) is not concerned that its in-development hypersonic missiles could suffer from a communications blackout caused by a cocoon of plasma.
NASA spacecraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles have previously suffered from a communication interference caused by a layer of plasma forming around the vehicles when they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. 
Plasma forms when atmospheric gases are ionized – electrons are separated from their atoms – by the heat and compression caused by an object moving through the air at many times the speed of sound. The plasma layer blocks radio transmissions.
Many researchers and observers have thought that hypersonic missiles would also form a plasma sheath while flying more than five times the speed of sound through the atmosphere. 
That could make it difficult to communicate with the missiles. 
Radioing the high-stakes weapons could be critical, for instance, to abort a mission.
However, despite popular perception, the possibility is not a major concern, says Mike White, assistant director of hypersonics with the Pentagon.

... flightglobal.com ... Plasma blackout is not a worry for hypersonic missiles: Pentagon ...

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Armi ipersoniche ... tutti le chiedono, tutti le vogliono ... 

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There is growing international interest in the development of offensive hypersonic weapon systems, particularly following the deployment by Russia and China of nascent hypersonic strike capabilities. 
France, India, Japan and the UK all are seeking to develop a hypersonic strike capability too.

... aviationweek.com ... International Hypersonic Strike Weapons Projects Accelerate ...

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Questa notizia risale a tre settimane fa ... ovvero ... qualche volta va male e si cerca di capirne il motivo ... 

... aviationweek.com ... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/missile-defense-weapons/us-air-force-investigates-hypersonic-test-mishap ...

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AGM-183A ... nuovo test in volo appeso all'ala di un B-52H ...

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The Air Force took another step towards fielding a hypersonic weapon following its final captive-carry test of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon under a wing of a B-52 Stratofortress off the Southern California coast, Aug 8.
The flight resulted in the successful transmission of telemetry and GPS data from the AGM-183A IMV-2 (Instrumented Measurement Vehicle) to Point Mugu Sea Range ground stations. 
The test verified system integration with the B-52 launch platform and telemetry while practicing concepts of operations that will be utilized during its first Booster Test Flight later this year.
“This is a major milestone for the program, the team and our Air Force,” said Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, Air Force Program Executive Officer for Weapons. 
“ARRW is the first step in bringing game-changing hypersonic capabilities to our Warfighters.”

... edwards.af.mil ... https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Article/2306049/air-force-conducts-latest-hypersonic-weapon-flight-test/ ...

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Anche qui ...

... ainonline.com ... https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-08-10/final-captive-test-us-air-forces-hypersonic-weapon ...

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Armi ipersoniche ... la ricerca si espande ...

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The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has released a Request for Information (RFI) for a new hypersonic missile demonstrator under its Expendable Hypersonic Multi-Mission Air-Breathing Demonstrator (Mayhem) program.
Through the Mayhem program, the AFRL is interested in the design, fabrication, integration, and necessary research needed to enable a larger-scale expendable air-breathing hypersonic multimission flight demonstrator.
The Mayhem System Demonstrator (MSD) will need to be capable of carrying larger payloads over distances further than current hypersonic capabilities allow. 
The payload bay will be modular and capable of carrying/delivering at least three distinct payloads in order to execute multiple Government-defined mission sets.

... defpost.com ... U.S. Air Force Releases RFI for “Mayhem” Hypersonic Missile Demonstrator Program ...

Anche qui ... forbes.com ... Air Force Seeks Proposals For Scramjet-Powered Hypersonic ‘Mayhem’ Missile Demonstrator ...

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"Mayhem" ... un programma aperto soltanto ai più importanti nomi dell'industria aerospaziale USA ... forse ...

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The Air Force is seeking a new, air-breathing hypersonic system, nicknamed “Mayhem,” that would be larger than the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, and carry multiple payloads, perhaps performing an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission in addition to attack.
USAF intends to solicit concepts for a new hypersonic system exclusively from hypersonics-knowledgeable contractors, namely Boeing, Lockheed Martin’s Skunkworks, and Raytheon, with contracts to be awarded in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, according to an Aug. 5 notice. 
Any companies that feel they are capable of doing the work and that they’ve been unfairly excluded need to contact the Air Force Research Laboratory within two weeks of the solicitation.  
The system is officially called the Expendable Hypersonic Air-Breathing Multi-Mission Demonstrator Program, but USAF refers to it as “Mayhem,” or “Mayhem System Demonstrator” for short.

... airforcemag.com ... ‘Mayhem’ Will Be Larger, Multi-Role Air-Breathing Hypersonic System for USAF ...

Modificato 22 Agosto 2020 da TT-1 Pinto
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Sta circolando la notizia di un missile aviotrasportato cinese ...

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Video has emerged out of China showing what appears to be an H-6N missile carrier aircraft with a massive weapon slung underneath it. 
The unique wedge-shaped profile of the missile's forward section points to the possibility that the missile is a hypersonic weapon system. 
In particular, the form factor looks similar to the one found on China's ground-launched DF-17 hypersonic weapon, which uses a ballistic missile to boost an unpowered DF-ZF hypersonic boost-glide vehicle to a velocity well over Mach 5 before the vehicle continues on maneuvering path through the atmosphere to its target.

… thedrive.com/the-war-zone … Video Of Chinese Missile Carrier Jet Hauling What Appears To Be A Hypersonic Weapon Emerges …

Modificato 25 Ottobre 2020 da TT-1 Pinto
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Accordo USA-Australia ...

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Australia’s military will help the Pentagon pursue so-called “air-breathing” hypersonic weapons and more under the U.S.-run Allied Prototyping Initiative, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 30.
The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) initiative “will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring the U.S. and our allies lead the world in the advancement of this transformational warfighting capability,” Michael Kratsios, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said in a release.
It’s the second partnership created through the prototyping initiative since it launched last year. 
Norway became the first as part of a bilateral effort to pursue solid fuel ramjet technology.

… airforcemag.com … Air Force to Lead US, Australia Push for Hypersonic Technology …

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Negli USA ... tanti, forse troppi, programmi e risorse inadeguate ...

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There aren’t enough experts or wind tunnel capacity for all the hypersonics development and testing currently underway, suggesting existing programs might need to be consolidated, the Air Force’s chief scientist said Dec. 17.
Richard J. Joseph asked the head of Air Force hypersonics projects less than three weeks ago what is the top obstacle in accomplishing program objectives, and was told, “People. It’s having enough people who know enough about this to be helpful,” he said during an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual event. 
To which Joseph said he replied, “Maybe we have too many programs. Maybe these programs need to be consolidated … There are so many programs.”
The Pentagon has not disclosed how many hypersonics programs are underway, but each service has at least one boost-glide effort in the works. 
USAF also has air-breathing concepts in development, and there also are efforts at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Missile Defense Agency, and possibly the Space Development Agency as well.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-chief-scientist-dod-needs-more-hypersonics-experts-testing-facilities/ ...

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Perché sono così importanti per la sicurezza degli Stati Uniti?

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America’s enemies learned from the Gulf and Iraq wars that they could not allow the U.S. and its allies geographic access to a combat zone, and have therefore developed denial techniques.
It is here that hypersonic weapons become extremely important.
Denying an enemy access to a combat zone requires enough long-range missiles to hold U.S. forces out of their missiles’ effective range. 
Two methods exist to execute this task: build enough missiles and launch platforms (ships, aircraft, submarines or ground-based launchers) to overwhelm an air defense system, or build munitions that can evade air defense systems.
Hypersonic weapons aid the latter aspect of this approach.

... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/02/16/why-are-hypersonic-weapons-so-important-for-americas-security/ ...

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Recuperare il tempo perduto ...

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Flight-testing U.S. hypersonic missiles is about to take off - perhaps as often as once every six weeks over the next four years - but the Pentagon still has a long way to go to create the “ecosystem” of skilled people, test facilities, and industrial capacity needed to build such weapons at scale.
The urgency is great, because China and Russia have already fielded their first hypersonic weapons, and it’s expected it will take the U.S. several years to catch up. 
For that reason, the U.S. is on a crash program to field weaponized prototypes in the next two or three years, followed a few years later by more elaborate and mature systems built in larger numbers. 
However, that won’t happen without building the infrastructure to produce the still-experimental vehicles.

 

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/the-u-s-is-playing-catch-up-on-hypersonics-heres-how/ ...

Se ne stanno rendendo conto soltanto ora ... 

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Ma Pratt & Whitney non sta con le mani in mano ...

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As reusable hypersonic propulsion rises up the list of U.S. Defense Department priorities, 
Pratt & Whitney now confirms it is working on a secretive development program called Metacomet aimed at solving the problem of fielding high-speed, reusable propulsion systems at low cost.
Already at least two years old, Metacomet - a name linked to a 17th century Wampanoag chief, the namesake of a ridge overlooking a Pratt & Whitney research facility in Connecticut - marks the company’s return to Mach 3-plus propulsion nearly a decade after selling its scramjet pioneer Rocketdyne arm to the parent company of Aerojet in 2012.

... aviationweek.com ... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/pratt-whitney-makes-hypersonic-revival-pentagon-pushes-reuse ...

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Armi ipersoniche ...

L'Esercito le vuole ... 

... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/02/09/us-army-begins-equipping-first-unit-with-hypersonic-capability/ ...

L'Aeronautica non è d'accordo ...

... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/04/02/air-force-general-says-of-armys-long-range-precision-fires-goal-its-stupid/ ...

... airforcemag.com ...  https://www.airforcemag.com/armys-long-range-strike-vision-is-stupid-afgsc-chief-says/ ...

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Questa volta non è andata ... 

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The first booster flight test of the Air Force’s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon failed April 5. 
In a release issued April 6, the service acknowledged the failure is a “setback” for hypersonic progress, but said the test still provided “valuable information” for the program’s development.
The test, which was conducted at Point Mugu Sea Range, Calif., was supposed to be the first time ARRW fired its booster vehicle and flew on its own, but the missile did not “complete its launch sequence” and remained on the B-52H Stratofortress. 
The bomber then returned to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/hypersonic-arrw-booster-flight-test-unsuccessful/ ...

Anche qui ... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/04/06/the-first-flight-test-of-the-air-forces-air-launched-hypersonic-booster-didnt-go-as-planned/ ...

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Clear and Present Danger ...

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U.S. aircraft carriers are already facing risks from hypersonic weapons that are now entering the inventory of American adversaries and the Navy has developed early defenses for the threat, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said last week before the Senate.
“It’s important that we have that capability now because the hypersonic threat is there now,” Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces last week.
Within the last few years, both China and Russia have fielded early versions of hypersonic weapons that can travel faster than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5 is about 3,806 mph) and potentially hold U.S. capital ships at risk. 
Unlike the explosive supersonic cruise missile threats the carrier’s Aegis escorts are designed to fight, the new weapons travel at higher speed and can make unexpected changes in flight on their way to their targets.
The Russians have already fielded the Kinzhal – a maneuverable ballistic missile that can be launched from MiG-31 and Su-34 fighters.

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2021/06/14/mda-u-s-aircraft-carriers-now-at-risk-from-hypersonic-missiles#more-86666 ...

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AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) ... riuscita la prima prova di detonazione della testata ... 

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Recently, the 780th Test Squadron successfully detonated an AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon warhead for the first time.
The first-of-its-kind test for the air-to-ground, rocket-powered, high-altitude, hypersonic missile collected data on the lethality of the unique weapon.

... eglin.af.mil ... https://www.eglin.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2684240/test-team-detonates-hypersonic-missile-warhead/ ...

Si attende, entro il mese, un nuovo lancio del missile dopo il fallimento dell'Aprile scorso ...

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/air-force-july-launch-arrw-hypersonic-missile/ ...

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Northrop Grumman ... in costruzione un "Hypersonics Center of Excellence" ... la struttura supporterà l'intero ciclo di vita della produzione dalla progettazione all'integrazione ...

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Northrop Grumman Corporation has broken ground on a Hypersonics Center of Excellence to support the U.S. military and its allies in the fight against evolving threats. 
Through its investments in digital engineering and smart infrastructure at its Elkton, Maryland facility, Northrop Grumman will provide full lifecycle production for hypersonic weapons, from design and development to production and integration.
“Hypersonic weapons protect our warfighters by offering higher speeds, longer ranges, optimal performance and the ability to combat a threat with as much distance in between them and the threat as possible,” said Rebecca Torzone, vice president, missile products, Northrop Grumman. 
“Our new hypersonics production facility will optimize our development efficiency, drive affordability, and ultimately deliver weapons to our warfighters faster.”

... news.northropgrumman.com ... https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-builds-hypersonic-center-of-excellence-to-support-national-security ...

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AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) ... fallito anche il secondo test ...

... thedrive,com ... https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41761/air-forces-fails-in-second-attempt-to-conduct-a-test-flight-of-its-first-hypersonic-missile ...

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Industria e università si associano nello studio delle tecnologie ipersoniche ...

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Rolls-Royce will be the founding industry member of the new Hypersonics Ground Test Center (HGTC) at Purdue University, a national testing facility for the aerospace industry.
The new test center will support U.S. national defense strategy and bring together many aerospace companies to enhance their test capability. 
The U.S. Department of Defense considers hypersonic capability a major priority, with seven active key rapid prototyping projects in works, a combined $3 Billion in annual funding, and the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office set up to coordinate efforts.
Rolls-Royce is responding to this urgent priority with significant development efforts under way and will expand testing capability as a founding member of the new HGTC at Purdue’s campus in Indiana.

... rolls-royce.com ... https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/2021/09-08-2021-rr-north-america-to-join-research-effort-in-new-hypersonics-test-facility.aspx ...

Anche qui ... purdue.edu ... https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2021/Q3/national-hypersonic-ground-test-facility-to-be-built-in-purdue-aerospace-district.html ...

Modificato 11 Agosto 2021 da TT-1 Pinto
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Rapporto al Congresso ... aggiornato al 9 Luglio 2021 ...

... fas.org ... https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R45811.pdf ...

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Rapporto al Congresso ... aggiornato al 25 Agosto 2021 ...

... s3.documentcloud.org ... https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21049590/hypersonic-weapons-background-and-issues-for-congress-aug-25-2021.pdf ...