New generation hypersonic shock systems using guided aerial bombs
Over the millennia, mankind has developed a rule according to which, in order to survive and defeat the enemy weapon It must be more accurate, faster and more powerful than the enemy. Meets these requirements in modern conditions aviation weapons. Currently, abroad guided aircraft weapons (UAPs), in particular guided aircraft bombs (UAB), whose caliber lies in a wide range - from 9 to 13600 kg, are being intensively developed: they are equipped with new types of guidance and control systems, effective combat parts, methods of combat use are being improved. UAB are an indispensable accessory of modern strike aviation systems (UAK) for tactical and strategic purposes. Despite the high level of efficiency of modern UAB prototypes, being part of the UAK, they do not always meet the requirements of fulfilling promising combat missions. As a rule, UAKs operate near the front line, while all efficiency is lost.
Local wars of the last decades, and above all military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, have revealed the inadequacy of conventional high-precision weapons, including the UAB. When performing a combat mission, too much time passes from the moment the target is detected and the decision to attack is taken until its defeat. For example, a B-2 Spirit bomber, taking off from an airfield in the United States, must fly 12-15 hours before the target area of attack. Therefore, in modern conditions it is necessary to have a rapid-response weapon and a high-precision action at a long distance, reaching tens of thousands of kilometers.
One of the areas of research to fulfill these requirements abroad is the creation of a new generation of hypersonic shock systems. Work on the creation of hypersonic aircraft (LA) (missiles) and kinetic weapons, with the ability to accurately target targets are conducted in the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
Studying foreign experience is extremely important for us, because before the domestic defense industry complex (DIC), as noted by D. Rogozin in his article “Russia needs smart defense” (The newspaper “Krasnaya Zvezda”. 2012. - February 7. - С . 3) tasked to "in the shortest possible time to regain the global technological leadership in the field of weapons production." As noted in the article by V.V. Putin's “To Be Strong: National Security Guarantees for Russia” (Rossiyskaya Gazeta Newspaper. - 2012. - No. 5708 (35). - February 20. - C. 1-3) “The task of the coming decade is to The Armed Forces could rely on a fundamentally new technique. It shoots more precisely at a technique that “sees” further, reacts faster than similar systems of any potential adversary. ”
To achieve this, you need to thoroughly know the state, trends and main areas of work abroad. Of course, our specialists always performed R & D efforts to fulfill this condition. But in today's situation, when “the defense industry complex does not have an opportunity to calmly catch up with someone, we have to make a breakthrough, become leading inventors and producers ... Responding to the threats and challenges of today only means condemning ourselves to the eternal role of the laggards. We must by all means ensure technical, technological, and organizational superiority over any potential adversary ”(From the article by V. Putin).
It is believed that for the first time the creation of hypersonic aircrafts was proposed in 1930-s in Germany by Professor Eigen Zenger and engineer Irena Bredt. It was proposed to create an airplane that starts horizontally on a rocket catapult under the influence of rocket engines accelerating to a speed of about 5900 m / s, making a transcontinental flight with a range of 5-7 thousand km along a ricochet trajectory with dumping a combat load of up to 10 t and making an aircraft landing at a range more 20 thousand km from the starting point.
Considering the development of rocket science 1930-ies, engineer S. Korolev and pilot-observer E. Burch (Korolev S., Burch E. Rocket on the war // Young Technicians. - 1935. - №5. - C. 57-59) They proposed a scheme for the use of a rocket combat airplane of a stratoplane: “Turning to bombing, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the accuracy of hitting from heights measured in dozens of kilometers and at enormous speeds of the stratoplane should be negligible. But it’s quite possible that the approach to the target in the stratosphere is beyond the reach of ground weapons, rapid descent, bombing from ordinary heights, providing the necessary accuracy, and then a lightning ascent again to an unattainable height. ”
The concept of a global strike based on hypersonic weapons
Currently, this idea is beginning to materialize. In the United States in the middle of 1990, the concept of Global Reach - Global Power (“Global Reach - Global Power”) was formulated. In accordance with it, the United States should have the ability to attack land and surface targets anywhere in the world during 1-2 hours after an order is received, without using foreign military bases using conventional means of destruction, for example, UAB. It is possible to do this with the use of a new hypersonic weapon consisting of a hypersonic carrier platform and autonomous aircraft with a combat load, in particular UAB. The main properties of such weapons are high speed, long range, relatively high maneuverability, low visibility and high efficiency of use.
As part of the large-scale program of the US Armed Forces Global Strike (“Fast Global Strike”), which allows to strike conventional (non-nuclear) weapons of kinetic action on any part of the planet within one hour, and a new generation hypersonic shock system is being developed for the benefit of the US Army. two options:
• the first one, called AHW (Advanced Hypersonic Weapon), uses a disposable launch vehicle as a supersonic platform followed by launching a supersonic aircraft AHW (hypersonic planning aircraft can also be called a maneuvering warhead) equipped with guided aerial bombs to hit the target;
• The second one, called the FALCON HCV-2 shock hypersonic shock system, uses a hypersonic aircraft to create the conditions for launching an autonomous hypersonic gliding LA CAV that flies to the target and defeats it with the help of the UAB.
Fig.1 - Variants of the structurally-aerodynamic appearance of the shock hypersonic LA HCV
The first variant of the technical solution has a significant drawback, namely, that the launch vehicle delivering the hypersonic projectile to the launch point of the AHW can be mistaken for a nuclear warhead missile.
In 2003, the Air Force and the Advanced Development Department (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense based on their own developments and industry proposals for advanced hypersonic systems developed a new concept for a promising hypersonic shock system, called FALCON (Force Application and Launch from Continental US). launch from the continental United States ”) or“ Falcon ”. According to this concept, the FALCON shock system consists of a hypersonic reusable (for example, unmanned) carrier aircraft HCV (Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle - LA, flying at altitudes of the order of 40-60 km with hypersonic cruising speed, with a mass of payload up to 5400 kg and 15 range -17000 km) and reusable hypersonic highly maneuverable controlled glider CAV (Common Aero Vehicle - unified autonomous aircraft) with aerodynamic quality 3-5. Basing of HCV vehicles is assumed at airfields with a runway up to 3 km in length.
Lockheed-Martin Corporation was chosen as the lead developer of the HCV hypersonic percussion apparatus and the CAV delivery system of the FALCON shock system. In 2005, she began work on determining their technical appearance and assessing the technological feasibility of projects. The largest aerospace firms of the USA - Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Andrews Space are also connected to the works. Due to the high level of technological risk of the program, conceptual studies were conducted of several variants of experimental samples of delivery vehicles and their carriers with an assessment of the characteristics of maneuverability and controllability.
When discarded from a carrier at hypersonic speed, it can deliver to the target at a distance of up to 16000 km a different combat load with a maximum mass of 500 kg. The device is supposed to be performed according to a promising aerodynamic scheme, which provides high aerodynamic quality. For retargeting the device in flight and hitting targets detected within a radius of up to 5400, its equipment is supposed to include real-time data exchange equipment with various reconnaissance systems and control points. The defeat of stationary high-security (buried) targets will be provided by the use of means of defeat caliber 500 kg with penetrating warhead. Accuracy (circular probable deviation) should be about 3 m at a meeting speed with a target of up to 1200 m / s.
Fig.2 - Autonomous hypersonic LA CAV
A hypersonic gliding LA CAV with aerodynamic controls has a mass of approximately 900 kg, which can be up to six on a carrier plane, carries in its combat compartment two conventional 226 kg bombs. The accuracy of the use of bombs is very high - 3 meter. The range of the actual CAV may be about 5000 km. In fig. 2 presents a scheme for the separation of penetrating weapons using inflatable shells.
The FALCON hypersonic shock system combat use scheme looks approximately as follows. After receiving the job, the HCV hypersonic bomber takes off from a conventional aerodrome and, using a combined propulsion system (DU), accelerates to a speed approximately corresponding to M = 6. When this speed is reached, the remote control switches to the hypersonic ramjet mode, accelerating the aircraft to M = 10 and a height of at least 40 km. At a given moment, the CAV hypersonic planning aircraft LA detach from the aircraft carrier, which, after completing the combat mission for hitting targets, return to the airfield of one of the US overseas air bases (if the CAV is equipped with its own engine and necessary fuel, it can return to the continental US ) (fig. 3).
Fig.3 - The combat application of a HVA using a wave-like flight path of the impact aircraft
There are two types of flight paths. The first type characterizes the wave-like trajectory for a hypersonic aircraft, which was proposed by German engineer Eigen Senger in the bomber design as early as World War II. The meaning of the wave-like trajectory is as follows. Due to acceleration, the device leaves the atmosphere and turns off the engine, saving fuel. Then, under the influence of gravity, the plane returns to the atmosphere and turns on the engine again (for a short while, only on 20-40 с), which again throws the device into space. Such a trajectory, in addition to increasing the range, also contributes to cooling the design of the bomber when it is in space. Flight altitude does not exceed 60 km, and the wave step is about 400 km. The second type of trajectory has a classic straight flight trajectory.
Experimental research on the creation of hypersonic weapons
Hypersonic HTV models (Hypersonic Test Vehicle) weighing about 900 kg and up to 5 m in length were proposed to evaluate their performance, controllability and thermal loads at speeds M = 10 - HTV-1, HTV-2, HTV-3.
Fig.4 - Experimental hypersonic aircraft HTV-1
Fig.5 - Experimental hypersonic aircraft HTV-2
Fig.6 - Experimental hypersonic aircraft HTV-3
Fig.7 - Profile test flight hypersonic LA HTV-2
The HTV-1 with the duration of the controlled flight of the 800 with the speed M = 10 was removed from the tests due to the technological complexity in the manufacture of the heat shield and the wrong design solutions (Fig. 4).
The HTV-2 is built on an integrated circuit with sharp leading edges and provides 3,5-4 quality, which, the developers believe, will ensure the specified planning distance, as well as maneuverability and controllability using aerodynamic shields for aiming at the target with the required accuracy (Fig 5). According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the FALCON HTV-2 hypersonic device is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 27000 km and can reach speeds up to 20 Mach numbers (23000 km / h).
The HTV-3 is a scale model of the HCV hypersonic strike aircraft with aerodynamic quality 4-5 (Fig. 6). The model is designed to evaluate the adopted technological and structural solutions, aerodynamic and flight performance, as well as maneuverability and controllability in the interests of the further development of the HCV aircraft. Flight tests were supposed to be carried out in 2009. The total cost of the model fabrication and flight tests was estimated at $ 50 million.
Testing of the impact complex was supposed to be carried out in 2008-2009. using rocket carriers. The test flight of the HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft is shown in fig. 7.
As studies have shown, the main issues of concern for the creation of a hypersonic aircraft will be associated with the development of a power plant, the choice of fuel and structural materials, aerodynamics and flight dynamics, and a control system.
The choice of the aerodynamic scheme and the structural layout of the aircraft should be based on the condition of ensuring the joint operation of the air intake, power plant and other elements of the aircraft. At hypersonic speeds, the questions of studying the efficiency of aerodynamic controls, with minimal areas of stabilizing and control surfaces, articulated moments, especially when approaching the target area at a speed of about 1600 m / s, become paramount, first of all, to ensure the strength of the design and high-precision targeting target.
According to preliminary studies, the temperature on the surface of the hypersonic device reaches 1900 ° С, while for the normal functioning of the onboard equipment the temperature inside the compartment should be no higher than 70 ° C. Therefore, the device body must have a heat-resistant shell of high-temperature materials and multilayer heat protection based on existing currently constructive materials.
The hypersonic device is equipped with a combined inertial-satellite control system and in the future a finite homing system of optical-electronic or radar type.
To ensure straightforward flight, direct-flow engines are considered the most promising for military systems: SPRRD (supersonic ramjet) and scramjet (hypersonic ramjet). They are simple in design, since they have practically no moving parts (except for the fuel supply pump) using conventional hydrocarbon fuel.
Fig.8 - Hypersonic LA X-51A
Fig.9 - Launch of AHW hypersonic aircraft from a launch vehicle
Fig.10 - Autonomous hypersonic aircraft HTV-2 in flight
The aerodynamic scheme and design of the CAV apparatus are being worked out within the framework of the X-41 project, and the carrier aircraft - under the X-51 program. The purpose of the X-51A program is to demonstrate the possibilities of creating a scramjet, developing heat-resistant materials, integrating an airframe and an engine, as well as other technologies necessary for flight in the range of 4,5-6,5 M. Within the framework of this program, work is also underway to create a ballistic missile with conventional warhead, Kh-51A Waverider hypersonic missile and orbital drone X-37V.
According to CRS, funding for the program in 2011 amounted to 239,9 million, of which 69 million was spent on AHW.
The US DoD has conducted another test of the advanced hypersonic weapon AHW (Advanced Hypersonic Weapon). The test of the munition took place on November 17 2011. The main purpose of the test was to test the munition for maneuverability, controllability and resistance to high temperature effects. It is known that AHW was bred to the upper atmosphere using a launch vehicle launched from an air base in Hawaii (Fig. 9). After separating the ammunition from the rocket, he planned and hit the target on the Marshall Islands near Kwajalein Atoll, located four thousand kilometers south-west of Hawaii, at a hypersonic speed five times the speed of sound. The flight lasted less than 30 min.
According to Pentagon spokesperson Melinda Morgan, the purpose of testing the ammunition was to collect data on the AHW aerodynamics, its controllability and resistance to high temperatures.
The last HTV-2 tests took place in mid-August 2011 and were unsuccessful (Fig. 10).
According to experts, it is possible to adopt the shock hypersonic system of the new generation of the first generation up to 2015 g. It is considered necessary to provide with a one-time launch vehicle up to 16 starts per day. The launch cost is about 5 million.
The creation of a full-scale shock system is expected no earlier than 2025-2030.
The idea of a military use of a stratoplane with a rocket engine, proposed by S. Korolev and E. Burch in the 1930-ies, according to research conducted in the United States, begins to be implemented in projects to create a new-generation shock hypersonic weapon.
The use of UAB in the composition of a hypersonic autonomous apparatus when attacking a target imposes high requirements on providing high-precision guidance in conditions of hypersonic flight and thermal protection of equipment from the effects of kinetic heating.
Using the example of the development of hypersonic weapons in the United States, we see that the capabilities for the combat use of the UAB are far from exhausted and they are determined not only by the tactical and technical characteristics of the UAB itself, which provides the specified range, accuracy and probability of destruction, but also by means of delivery. In addition, the implementation of this project can also solve the peaceful task of promptly delivering cargo or rescue equipment to any place on earth.
The material presented makes us seriously think about the content of the main directions of development of domestic guided strike systems until 2020-2030. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the statement of D. Rogozin (D. Rogozin. Work on the exact algorithm // National Defense. - 2012. - No. 2. - P. 34-406): "... we must abandon the idea of" catching up and overtaking "... And it is unlikely that in a short time we will gather the strength and capabilities that would allow us to catch up with high-tech countries at incredible speeds. This does not need to be done. We need something else, much more complicated ... We need to calculate the course of the armed struggle with a prospect of up to 30 years, determine this point, and reach it. To understand what we need, that is, to prepare weapons not of tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow, but on historical a week in advance ... I repeat, do not think about what they are doing in the USA, in France, in Germany, think about what they will have in 30 years. And you have to create something that will be better than what they have now. “Do not follow them, try to understand where everything is heading, and then we will win.”
That is, it is necessary to understand whether a similar task has arisen for us, and if “yes”, how to solve it.
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