Current US hypersonic weapons projects. (General)

All depends on the size of the C-HGB. A source for HCSW (assumed to be a shortened air-launched version of Dark Eagle) suggested a weight of 1,200lb, so stick a Mk11 (1.2MT or Mk17 (2MT) on it. :cool:

Minuteman Missile Nuclear Warheads

The nuclear warhead, also known as the Reentry Vehicle, on a minuteman missile, went through a number of variations and improvements, to be used with the Minuteman missile.
minutemanmissile.com minutemanmissile.com
books.google.co.uk

Titan II

The Titan II ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) program was developed by the United States military to bolster the size, strength, and speed of the nation’s strategic weapons arsenal in the 1950s and 1960s. Each missile carried a single warhead—the largest in U.S. inventory—used liquid...
books.google.co.uk

That SABRE RV sounded quite cool too.
 
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Scott Kenny said:
I'd want the MARV from Pershing 2.
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You would use the same C-HGB as the conventional missile, just with a nuclear warhead. So something like a city-busting Mk-17 warhead (1.8-2MT, ~900lbs) would be just right.

www.spacewar.com

20 Years after 'Hyper-X', UVA team makes NASA hypersonic breakthrough

Charlottesville VA (SPX) Jun 27, 2024 - What if the future of space travel were to look less like Space-X's rocket-based Starship and more like NASA's Hyper-X, the hypersonic jet plane that, 20 years ago this year, flew faster than any
www.spacewar.com
 
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I wonder if a PrSM-ER will be developed by adding a third-stage to the booster-stack?

Edit: In regards to the STARS LV has the DoD started looking for a replacement as there are only a finite number of Polaris A3 rocket-motors left due to the retired missile being LONG out of production.
 
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sferrin said:
Does it even have a second stage? Thought the existing model was single-stage.
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I was under the impression it was a two-stage missile, if the PrSM only uses a single-stage launcher then a two-stage booster would qualify as a PrSM-ER then.
 
NMaude said:
I was under the impression it was a two-stage missile, if the PrSM only uses a single-stage launcher then a two-stage booster would qualify as a PrSM-ER then.
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Prism is single stage; nothing separates. I doubt it could easily incorporate a booster, even if its launcher base could accommodate a longer stack, which it largely cannot. There is work being done on a longer ranged rocket motor of some kind, but I believe it is a lower priority compared to the Incr 2 guidance system.
 
NMaude said:
I was under the impression it was a two-stage missile, if the PrSM only uses a single-stage launcher then a two-stage booster would qualify as a PrSM-ER then.
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It's single stage.

However there is what used to be called PrSM Increment 4, but has now been renamed Long Range Maneuverable Fires. Supposedly the goal is a range of over 1000km. The Lockheed concept art seems to show a PrSM redesigned around a ramjet. Raytheon is also back in with an extended range offering of their original pitch for PrSM.
Assuming either missile fits the same form factor, naming it PrSM-ER would make sense from a marketing standpoint.
 
This is more a missile defence related article, but still relevant to hypersonic developments.

www.defensenews.com

Kratos’ Erinyes test vehicle logs hypersonic speeds on first flight

The company developed Erinyes in three years for under $15 million with a mix of internal investment and congressional funding.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com

A hypersonic test bed built by Kratos took its first flight last month, launching experiments for the Missile Defense Agency and hitting speeds above Mach 5.

MDA announced the successful flight of its first Hypersonic Testbed, HTB-1, June 14, which took off from Wallops Island in Virginia. Not only did it provide a high-speed test platform for the agency, but it allowed its two missile tracking satellites — launched in February and designed to detect advanced threats — to catch their first tracks of a hypersonic vehicle.

While MDA did not provide details about which company built the system, Kratos confirmed last week that its Erinyes vehicle — named after the Greek goddess of vengeance — flew the mission.
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1720031075855.png
 
Kratos confirmed last week that its Erinyes vehicle — named after the Greek goddess of vengeance — flew the mission.
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I thought that the Greek Goddess of vengeance was Nemesis.

Edit: I meant Goddess not God.
 
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Is that really a French Trident from SO?!!! ;)

iu

SO 9000 Trident
 
Defense Updates has posted earlier today this video concerning the Erinyes hypersonic testbed:


Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has announced the successful first flight of its Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed. Erinyes, commonly known in English as the Furies, is unforgiving goddesses of vengeance from Greek mythology.
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The launch, conducted on June 12, 2024, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, marks a significant milestone in the United States' quest for advanced hypersonic technologies.
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The flight, designated as Hypersonic Test Bed-1 (HTB-1), was a collaborative effort involving Kratos' Space & Missile Defense Systems Business Unit, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC).
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First announced in 2021, details about it remain scarce due to its highly secretive nature, with not even a photo available to the public.
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In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed could be game changer ?
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#defenseupdates #ushypersonicweapon #hypersonicmissile
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Chapters:
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:59 OVERVIEW
03:53 ERINYES
06:50 ANALYSIS
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Great news. Give them Sentinel ;)

Are we officially in the second missile age? Or would it be the third?

Great more debate about classification like fighter generations :)
 
dark sidius said:
www.americanmachinist.com

GE Speeding Development of Hypersonic Engine

A dual-mode ramjet design showed a 3X increase in airflow compared to previously flight-tested hypersonic technology, and was developed and tested in less than 11 months.
www.americanmachinist.com www.americanmachinist.com
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Is this presumably a dual mode ramjet/scramjet? Or is it turbine-ramjet? The description is unclear but since they keep name dropping “hypersonic“ I assume the former.
 
Just been thinking. A Dark Eagle/CPS costs ~$40m and a Falcon 9 launch costs $15m (reusable)* and has an RTLS (Return to Launch SIte) payload of 12,000kg. Theoretically you could load say two dozen C-HGBs on a Falcon 9 (maybe more given sub-orbital trajectory) and hit 24 targets anywhere on the planet in ~20-25 minutes at a cost of ~$1-2m per target. (Guessing cost a little here because I'm not sure how much a C-HGB on its own costs but presumably much less than an AUR(All-Up Round).) The LV would then return to the launch site. You could do the same with any reusable launcher, current or future reusable LV (Falcon 9, Sharship, Terran R, Nova... etc.).

*https://www.elonx.net/how-much-does...on-musk-explains-why-reusability-is-worth-it/
According to Elon Musk, the marginal cost for a reused Falcon 9 launch is only about $15 million. He explained that the majority of this amount was represented by the $10 million it costs to manufacture a new upper stage.
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Continued here:
 
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