"Vintage Racer" US Hypersonic Loitering Weapon System

Karstjager

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Second to last bullet point looks like 'Modular payload', final could be 'Cost imposition strategy'?
 
An antiquated and extremely high priced UAS provider.. How can they be depended on to deliver a revolutionary product? Likely more state capture.
 
sounds like

hqdefault.jpg


The US Army wants a missile capable of releasing a cluster of drones during flight in order to hit multiple targets.

After being released from the missile, the payload of "quad-copters" would decelerate, identify targets, land on the targets and detonate attached munitions, which the solicitation calls "explosively formed penetrators (EFP)."

"The ultimate goal is to produce a missile deployable, long range UAS swarm that can deliver small EFPs to a variety of targets. This will serve as a smart augmentation to the standard missile warhead," according to the Department of Defense request.

Possible targets named in the solicitation are tanks and large caliber gun barrels, vehicle roofs, fuel storage barrels, and ammunition storage sites.

While the technology is meant for military use, "other payloads could be used for remote sensing into dangerous/hazardous areas," the solicitation stated.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon in a test launched a swarm of 103 Perdix microdrones from three separate F/A-18 Super Hornets. The swarm demonstrated advanced behavior such as "collective decision-making, adaptive formation flying, and self-healing," according to a DoD statement.

Applications for the Army's air platform request are due Feb. 8.

 
Understand a mothership missile could be smart cluster a follow on to a Damocles dispenser but quadrotors would be absurdly unreliable rendering the whole concept goofy.
 
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[QUOTE = "Karstjager, post: 397169, membro: 9406"]
Vintage Racer - Sistema di arma ipersonico bighellonante che eroga (in qualche modo) un sistema di aria bighellonante e multi-ruolo su un'area bersaglio. Vintage Racer è stato testato in volo con successo e trasferito all'esercito per lo sviluppo successivo. Probabilmente un progetto di Atomics generale
Fonte :
[URL unfurl = "true"] https://comptroller.defense.gov/Por...d_E/RDTE_Vol3_OSD_RDTE_PB21_Justific_Book.pdf [/ URL]
[MEDIA = Twitter] 1269423043392212993 [/ MEDIA]

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What would? Why is there the word "hypersonic"?
 
Vintage Racer - loitering weapon system, equipped with Hypersonic kinetic ammunition?
1591561007895.png

1591561064559.png
 
Right now, the only concept I can think off is a hosting vehicle (missile) trading Hypersonic speed for altitude and eventually releasing at one point (engine cut-off?) a payload of sub-munitions that will cost-up reach space alt before falling back down on earth toward identified targets (boosted or un-boosted).

You could probably get several minutes to cover an entire area full of time-sensitive targets playing hide and seek (shoot & scoot) b/w the altitude reached during cost-up and the free fall back down at terminal velocity speed (gravity Vs Drag) given that those are glide bodies. Then once you start your attack run, the munition adopt an attitude compatible with hypersonic speed and convert back what's left of altitude to speed to bypass defenses and gain kinetic power for a kill.

Notice that the concept works also if the missile itself is its own sub-munition: once over the target area, the Hypersonic missile cost-up trade speed for alt, change attitude to fall back at minimal speed and once a target is locked, dive on it (boosted or un-boosted). Altitude would be less (no gains with mass-fraction) but fall back speed might be slower (greater gliding surface Vs a sub-munition).
 
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To understand the Vintage Racer scenarios of work, we need to understand at what point of the flight we have hypersonic.
On the photo, we can see the headings:
“Hypersonic Ingress” (“Hypersonic penetration” –penetration of what – targets or air defense?),
“Survivable” (OK, probably it’s about hypersonic penetration of air defense) ,
“Time Over Target” (Hypersonic loitering over targets area - it is unlikely because it is a very energy-consuming maneuver, besides the option proposed by the TomcatViP but then the vulnerability to air defense increases)
and “Multi-Role” (we are talking about the defeat of protected but all the same ground targets such as vehicles - the defeat of buried bunkers with kinetic ammunition is ineffective),
and the illustration shows something launched from a ground launcher .

Hypersonic is needed to penetration of air defense or to quickly set up ammunition for a suddenly appearing targets.
If we are talking about a ground vehicles they suddenly do not appear at the theater and at the same time they do not maneuver at speeds that require hypersonic response.
Therefore, we are most likely talking about hypersonic to overcome air defense.
Hypersonic target defeat also allows concluding for penetration strong air defense directly in the target area or\and for guaranteed hit targets with very thick armor, but what targets have thick armor on top? ICBMs silo?

Now I have the next questions:
-What exactly type of targets should hit this complex?
-What guidance system of hypersonic kinetic ammunition?
 
Hypersonic
Low signature
$100 to 200k

!!
(edited)
 
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Hypersonic
Low signature
$100 to 222k

!!

At Mach 4-5, "on-station in 6-8 minutes" means about 300-400 mile range?

Low signature and cheap just by dint of being really small, not particularly shaped or coated. The payload might be 10 pounds or less of loitering munition?
 
Kind od PrSM with warhead loaded with Switchblades for example?
 

Hypersonic Ingress
- On station in 5 - 8 minutes
Survivable
- Ingress trajectory
- Low signature / cross-section
Time over target
- Up to 60 - 90 minutes loiter on station
Multi-role
- Engagement and support roles
- ???
- Position, navigation and timing (PNT?)
- Networked communications (comms) in a contested environment
Modular payload
- Multi-role and easily upgraded
Cost imposition strategy
- Inexpensive to deploy, target is ~ $100K - $200K / vehicle, costly to defeat

The concept (and the configuration of the loitering munition in flateric's last graphic) reminds me of an enlarged version of that rocket-launched mini-UAV for the Smerch MLRS that keeps rearing its head since the mid-1990s.
 

Hypersonic Ingress
- On station in 5 - 8 minutes
Survivable
- Ingress trajectory
- Low signature / cross-section
Time over target
- Up to 60 - 90 minutes loiter on station
Multi-role
- Engagement and support roles
- ???
- Position, navigation and timing (PNT?)
- Networked communications (comms) in a contested environment
Modular payload
- Multi-role and easily upgraded
Cost imposition strategy
- Inexpensive to deploy, target is ~ $100K - $200K / vehicle, costly to defeat

The concept (and the configuration of the loitering munition in flateric's last graphic) reminds me of an enlarged version of that rocket-launched mini-UAV for the Smerch MLRS that keeps rearing its head since the mid-1990s.

There was another years ago. . .a balloon / prop drone deployed from an RV or something. . . Don't recall the name. Rapid Eye:

 
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Isn't it by chance something similar to the LEO explosive warhead? Or cluster munitions?
 
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Multi-role
- Engagement and support roles
- ???
- Position, navigation and timing (PNT?)
- Networked communications (comms) in a contested environment
After playing with sharpening and shadows / highlights I think that ??? is ISR; everything else I agree with.
 
That makes sense! It was going to be a TLA, so I attempted to maybe backfit one that would be plausible, but couldn't think of a suitable candidate.
 
Why was a C-HGB shown in the photo? Assuming that it was a C-HGB or a future variant of it.
 
No newly released info above what's been posted, but another take on the matter

If nothing else, worthwhile for the in-depth explanation of PNT, which was a new one for me (as indicated by the ? in my write-up).

Maybe that's the dispenser?

I would be careful about reading too much into that - it's possible of course, but evidently not everything on this table actually relates to Vintage Racer. There are also what looks like a rail-gun projectile including armature and laser weapon target samples, so the connection to C-HGB isn't a given just because it happens to be present. Could just as easily be coincidence IMHO.

Starting wonder if maybe its payload is a drone swarm.

Apparently it's a modern ATACMS/BAT in concept.

In the kinetic variant, yes. Unlike BAT, (some of) the payload(s) can have non-lethal tasks (ad-hoc comms/nav node, ISR) which could well involve a drone swarm.
 
The glide path might be a spiral down at Hypersonic speed. With a variable radius and the speed involved, that would make it quite difficult to target.
That could be the link with the racer name.
Glide vehicule might be very high G tolerant due to their design.
 
I'm betting that some component looks like an old air racer. Maybe the loitering munitions?

Really doubt it. They don't generally assign these sorts of program names that way. VINTAGE is likely some sort of USAF command code word like RIVET or HARVEST.
 
If nothing else, worthwhile for the in-depth explanation of PNT, which was a new one for me (as indicated by the ? in my write-up).

"Position, navigation, and timing" (PNT) is the DoD term for the principal services provided by GPS. Given concerns about GPS being spoofed/jammed, this might refer to a GPS relay or substitute capability to enable precision strikes even a GPS-denied environment.
 
If it was designed to hit targets scattered here and there on the battlefield, it could potentially be used as an anti-ship weapon, to target a fleet of ships or a convoy of enemy ships.
 
If it was designed to hit targets scattered here and there on the battlefield, it could potentially be used as an anti-ship weapon, to target a fleet of ships or a convoy of enemy ships.

If you think a BAT submunition (or smaller) would sink a ship I suppose.
 
Don't need to sink a ship to make a mess of arrays, aerials, the bridge, etc and achieve a mission kill. And if it draws other assets alongside to assist, so much the better.
And something small and simple like WMCD skeet could probably puncture or damage a VLS cell and turrets, if that's the submunition.
 
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'Hypersonic' and 'loitering', two words I never expected to see together.

Submunition ejection could be interesting at those speeds.
 
Don't need to sink a ship to make a mess of arrays, aerials, the bridge, etc and achieve a mission kill. And if it draws other assets alongside to assist, so much the better.
And something small and simple like WMCD skeet could probably puncture or damage a VLS cell and turrets, if that's the submunition.

If your submunitions are that smart, sure. And if you have enough of them to overwhelm the ships defenses.
 
'Hypersonic' and 'loitering', two words I never expected to see together.

Submunition ejection could be interesting at those speeds.
been there done that - I think even long before RATTLRS
 

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"Position, navigation, and timing" (PNT) is the DoD term for the principal services provided by GPS. Given concerns about GPS being spoofed/jammed, this might refer to a GPS relay or substitute capability to enable precision strikes even a GPS-denied environment.

Yes, that's what I'm thinking as well - essentially a temporary UAS-borne WAAS node (or nodes).
 
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