Program Objective and description:
The objective of the Glide Breaker program is to further the capability of the United States to defend against supersonic and the entire class of hypersonic threats. Of particular interest are component technologies that radically reduce risk for development and integration of an operational, hard-kill system. A key figure of merit is deterrence: the ability to create large uncertainty for the adversary’s projected probability of mission success and effective raid size.
flateric said:I can't resist...
antigravite said:Grey Havoc said:According to this citation the relevant part of the GLIPAR Phase I studies involved "RF Coupling to the atmosphere as an AICBM weapon, Types of AICBM devices, Scan of electromagnetic spectrum, Linear coupling of electromagnetic, Radiation to an ionized gas, Missile heat transfer, Evaluation of electromagnetic, Coupling frequencies, Verdict; Implications and conclusions". No hard information seems to be currently available on later related studies. However according to an old ARPA history document, a key driver of the radiation based and other ABM studies under GLIPAR was to provide a relatively low cost weapon that would cost "no more to use against an ICBM than it cost the enemy to launch the ICBM against us".
Nice quote, Greay Havoc. Here is a little more. This story is indeed fascinating and intertwined with the early history of lasers, ARPA, DOE at a time when superbright people had high expectations while understimating the engineering difficulties likely scalable great ideas. Thus pooring lots of hope and money. Some argued lasers would be fielded in the future, as weapons systems with the capacity to destroy incoming RVs. This was the time when the father of the US ballistic missile reentry vehicle, Arthur Kantrowitz, suggested that a very high-powered MW radiation could destroy any such incoming RVs. What was then known as "ARPA" set up a special, dedicated committee called the "Radiation Weapons Analysis Study Group" whose president was non other than the dean of Columbia's university school of electrical engineering. This Study Group cast a look at this MW and other speculative ideas.
The reference mostly associated to the MW ABM weapon theoretical study is :
S.C. Linn and A. Kantrowitz, "Electromagnetic Induced Implosion as a Weapon for Ballistic Missile Defense", AERL Report#61-824, Contract AF# 19(604)758, October 1961. (Classified)
I am not sure it is declassified but it likely is given it is more than 50 year-old now. I have seen it mentionned twice. Once in a generic study on laser history, the other listed as reference 6 page 16 of the following (unclassified) AERL Report :
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/407346.pdf
A.
It amazes me that loon and his people are still around, and these days are cheerleaders for you know who.flateric said:I can't resist...
GWrecks said:Are we expecting something like Sprint again?
DrRansom said:It is a graduate student design competition.
Though details on Glide Breaker are classified, it would likely be part of a layered system integrated into the existing missile defense network using new satellites and weapons to detect and destroy hypersonic missiles. The Missile Defense Agency also has its own program developing layered sensors for the purpose, including constellations of lower-orbit satellites.
Glide Breaker Program Enters New Phase
Seeks to quantify jet interaction effects to enable future hypersonic glide-phase interceptors
4/15/2022
DARPA is seeking innovative proposals to conduct wind tunnel and flight testing of jet interaction effects for Phase 2 of the Glide Breaker program. The overall goal of Glide Breaker is to advance the United States’ ability to counter emerging hypersonic threats. Phase 1 of the program focused on developing and demonstrating a divert and attitude control system (DACS) that enables a kill vehicle to intercept hypersonic weapon threats during their glide phase.
Phase 2 will focus on quantifying aerodynamic jet interaction effects that result from DACS plumes and hypersonic air flows around an interceptor kill vehicle. The Glide Breaker Phase 2 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) can be found at this link.
“Glide Breaker Phase 1 developed the propulsion technology necessary to achieve hit-to-kill against highly-maneuverable hypersonic threats. Phase 2 of the Glide Breaker program will develop the technical understanding of jet interactions necessary to enable design of propulsion control systems for a future operational glide-phase interceptor kill vehicle. Phases 1 and 2 together fill the technology gaps necessary for the U.S. to develop a robust defense against hypersonic threats,” said Major Nathan Greiner, program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office.