How fast can missiles travel

Existing radar systems are used to detect them. There are two main types of hypersonic weapons. The U. China's test involved a hypersonic glide vehicle, according to reports. China has officially denied testing a hypersonic missile, saying it was a routine test of a reusable spacecraft. But China's test has heightened anxiety between it and the U. Facebook Twitter Email. Trajectory of China's hypersonic and ballistic missiles. How weapons compare. It is clear that the US is aiming to bridge the gap with regards to missile technology — a gap which has widened over the last decade as Russia and China have poured resources into their respective hypersonic projects.

Since , the Royal Navy and the French Navy have also been co-developing a hypersonic missile designed to replace the ageing Harpoon and Exocet respectively. The missile, Perseus, is expected to feature an agile and stealthy airframe that is powered by a ramjet motor built around a high compact Continuous Detonation Wave Engine. It is expected to come into service around China has a number of ongoing hypersonic projects. The nation is reportedly close to deploying a ballistic missile-launched hypersonic glide vehicle, the DF and has publicly exhibited a scramjet-powered missile, the Ling Yun.

Chinese operational doctrine calls for a weapon that would ward of US carrier groups, keeping them out of their operational range. The DF-ZF is a short to mid-range hypersonic missile glide vehicle and — when operational — would be able to largely mitigate any potential threat stemming from US carrier groups, fulfilling a long-term strategic goal without having to compete through naval strength.

In addition, China has also allegedly performed successful tests of the Starry Sky-2 hypersonic vehicle. The Starry Sky-2 can achieve a top speed of Mach 6 mph , switch direction mid-flight and can carry a payload consisting of either conventional warheads or nuclear weapons.

It will likely take China another five years to make the weapon operational. Russian doctrine calls for short and long-range capability, as the Kremlin will have to contend with European NATO members as well as the US on the other side of the Atlantic. In addition, Russia has deployed an operational hypersonic system, the KhM2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, capable reportedly of attaining a speed of Mach 10 and a range of miles, and is believed to be close to deploying a hypersonic cruise missile, the 3K22 Tsirkon.

The Tsirkon, a sea-and ground-launched missile is intended to attain high supersonic to hypersonic speeds, between Mach 4. Russia has also developed an intercontinental ballistic missile-launched hypersonic glide vehicle, Avangard, which may enter service in Hypersonic missiles are so valuable because there is currently no operational or reliable method of intercepting them.

However, as defence technology progresses countermeasures will emerge. Technologies such as directed energy weapons, particle beams and other non-kinetic weapons will be likely candidates for an effective defence against hypersonic missiles. Checkout the highlights from International Fighter Conference Although hypersonic threats would pose a significant challenge to current surface-to-air and air-to-air missile systems, such systems would, particularly in the conventional precision strike role, require a robust intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance ISTAR network.

In the mid-to-long term, directed energy weapons and electromagnetic rail guns, as well as enhanced performance missile interceptors, could provide defence against hypersonic threats. The USN is already close to outfitting its ships with a kilowatt laser that will be able to target missiles, drones and other modern threats. Another countermeasure has been proposed by the Missile Defense Agency.

A network of space-based satellites and sensors would theoretically be able to track hypersonic glide vehicles globally. This would be a huge first step in hypersonic missile defence. This is all future technology though. At the moment, the race for operational hypersonic missiles is closely contested between the US, Russia, and China. However, is the strategic value of hypersonic missiles limited? After all, there is still no effective defence against a barrage of conventional ICBMs.

The US and Russia have conducted tests of hypersonic weapons in recent months, and North Korea said last month it had tested a newly developed hypersonic missile. In July, Russia successfully tested a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, which President Vladimir Putin touted as part of a new generation of missile systems.

Moscow also tested the weapon from a submarine for the first time. The US said in late September that it had tested an air-breathing hypersonic weapon — meaning it sustain flight on its own through the atmosphere like a cruise missile — marking the first successful test of that class of weapon since Log In. Contact us Sign up for newsletters. Log In Register now My account. What are hypersonic missiles?