News of the domestic hypersonic program
17 August, the Rambler News Service news agency published an interview with Boris Obnosov, general director of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation (KTRV). The head of the organization of the manufacturer of high-precision systems spoke about the approaches to the development and production of new products, current work and plans for the future. Among other topics discussed the creation of hypersonic systems. In this context, B. Obnosov spoke about the range of enterprises involved in the long-term program, as well as the existing achievements and plans.
First of all, the general director of KTRV noted that it is his organization that is the main executor of work under the hypersonic program. In addition, the general designer of the direction works in this corporation. At the same time, a significant number of other organizations and enterprises are involved in the work, and all research and development is carried out in accordance with the existing unifying program.
In the creation of hypersonic technology, KTRV collaborates with the Advanced Research Foundation. A large amount of work is carried out by organizations from the corporation, namely NPO Mashinostroeniya and MKB Raduga, which carry out the overall coordination of work. Also, Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation has established close cooperation with the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering.
Despite the established cooperation within the corporation and with third-party organizations, there are some problems. B. Obnosov complained that the financing of the hypersonic program does not correspond to the level that the present question deserves. Hypersonic theme requires fundamental and applied research, and also covers almost all areas of engineering. As a result, adequate funding is required to resolve all issues.
The head of KTRV also raised the issue of prospects for current research and design work. In his opinion, the result of the current program in the context of armaments can not even be discussed. If a rocket can fly in the atmosphere at a speed that is 7-12 times the speed of sound, the protection systems against such weapons will “weaken” and will not be able to intercept.
Nevertheless, according to B. Obnosov, such advantages of a military nature are not the main advantage of hypersonic technologies. The study and creation of such systems should be a catalyst for the development of the industry as a whole. In these works, groundwork is used in the field of materials science, onboard electronic systems, power plants, design systems, etc. All these areas, developed in the interests of the hypersonic program, will further have a positive effect on civilian industries. It is very difficult to overestimate such a contribution to the development of science and industry, as the Director General of KTRV believes.
The complexity of the hypersonic program, its impact on various industries, as well as the expected effect from the implementation of the planned projects, allows making very bold comparisons. B. Obnosov believes that the development of hypersonic flight speeds will be an event of the same level as the first launch of an artificial Earth satellite in October 1957 of the year.
Ongoing work is carried out in accordance with the existing schedule and planned out a little ahead. In response to a question about the orientation of the program, the head of the Tactical Missiles Corporation said that by the year 2020 it is planned to reach speeds of at least M = 6. In this case we will talk exclusively about domestic developments.
In the context of global trends B. Obnosov said that determining the achievements of foreign countries in the hypersonic industry is associated with some problems. A full analysis of the situation with foreign developments is associated with certain difficulties. First of all, the existing problems are due to the presence of a significant amount of false information that interferes with the analysis. The current situation is similar to that observed before the appearance of nuclear weapons. Initially, there was a mass of open information, but later, when the topic was taken seriously, all open publications disappeared.
In the current situation, according to the general director of KTRV, the situation looks a little different. In the context of hypersonic themes, there is a significant amount of information noise and “garbage”, which seriously complicates tracking the situation. Nevertheless, domestic experts are still trying to determine the veracity of new messages, which is required to monitor the progress of foreign countries.
B. Obnosov stated that Tactical Missiles and related enterprises have a certain reserve in the hypersonic direction. These achievements and experience allow us to expect that in the future, Russian industry, developing its projects, will not lag behind foreign countries.
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According to the available data, at least two or three projects of promising hypersonic systems suitable for use in the interests of the armed forces are currently being developed in our country. Since the end of the last decade, domestic enterprises, headed by the NPO Mashinostroenia, have been developing the Zirkon missile system and airballistic combat equipment for 4202 missiles. There is also a joint Russian-Indian project BrahMos-II. With the help of the products being developed, it is planned to re-equip various types of armed forces and combat arms with the aim of increasing their combat capability and impact potential.
According to open data, the Zircon project involves the development of a complex with a hypersonic missile suitable for hitting various ground and surface targets. The main objective of the project is to create a guided missile design capable of speeds up to 5-6 M. The range of the product, according to various estimates, can reach from 300 to 1000 km. It is assumed that the Zircon missile will be able to be used as part of land missile systems, as well as as part of the armament of promising and modernized naval ships fleet.
According to some unconfirmed data and assumptions, the Zircon project has already been brought to the stage of flight tests of prototypes. Whether this information corresponds to reality is unknown. The industry and the Ministry of Defense do not disclose such details of new projects.
The purpose of the project "4202", according to available data, is to create a promising military equipment for intercontinental ballistic missiles. This project proposes the development of a hypersonic aircraft carrier of a special warhead that can be used as a replacement for "traditional" warheads. Due to the ability to maneuver and high speed, such combat equipment should be a serious challenge to existing and promising anti-missile defenses.
The development of the project "4202" began no later than the end of the last decade, and in some sources it is assumed that the first tests of this technology took place in the 2004 year. To date, there have been references to the testing of 4202 products along with ballistic missiles in various media. Some of these messages are not supported by other sources. Officials also do not confirm or refute the data on the tests of the new system.
There is also a joint Russian-Indian project of the BrahMos-II guided missile, which, according to various estimates, may involve the development of a product with hypersonic flight speed. Back in 2008, both parties involved in the development of the BrahMos project identified a list of further work. It was proposed to develop a rocket with a flight speed of up to 5-7 M. In the future, some design work was carried out, and a flying laboratory was tested, designed to work out various units and technologies.
At the Aero India 2013 exhibition for the first time, a model of a promising BrahMos-II rocket was shown, the characteristic appearance of which spoke of the possibility of flying at hypersonic speeds. According to reports, the development of the BrahMos-2 project is still ongoing. Tests of promising weapons based on the latest technologies should begin in the foreseeable future. After completing the checks and improvements, the issue of adopting the complex for service will be decided.
According to available data, to date, the domestic hypersonic program has achieved some success. The development of a promising direction continues, resulting in the emergence of new systems with higher performance. So, by the end of the current decade, it is planned to create equipment capable of speeding up to 6-7 M. Then, the emergence of new systems of this class, suitable for use by the armed forces, is possible.
Interview B. Obnosova:
https://rns.online/interviews/Glava-KTRV-ob-operatsii-v-Sirii-giperzvuke-i-oruzhii-dlya-dronov-2016-08-17/
Materials used:
http://interfax.ru/
https://lenta.ru/
http://bastion-karpenko.ru/
http://militaryrussia.ru/blog/topic-718.html
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