DARPA To Focus On Developing A High-Speed Strike Weapon

Credit: DARPA

Darpa Refocuses Hypersonics Research On Tactical Missions -- Aviation Week

For the Pentagon's advanced research agency, blazing a trail in hypersonics has proved problematic. Now a decade-long program to demonstrate technology for prompt global strike is being wound down, with some hard lessons learned but no flight-test successes.

In its place, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) plans to switch its focus to shorter, tactical ranges and launch a hypersonics “initiative” to include flight demonstrations of an air-breathing cruise missile and unpowered boost-glide weapon. If approved, the demos could be conducted jointly with the U.S. Air Force, which is eager to follow the success of its X-51A scramjet demonstrator with a high-speed strike weapon program.

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My Comment: It will still take a number of years to develop this hypersonic technology .... but having a quick strike conventional weapon has always been a priority for every White House administration, including the Obama administration.

Hypersonic Weapons In 2025?

 

Video: Air Force Sees Hypersonic Weapons in 2025 -- Defense Tech 

The U.S. military may be able to deploy unmanned hypersonic weapons as early as 2025, an official said.

The Air Force on May 1 successfully flew the X-51 WaveRider, an experimental “scramjet” made by Boeing Co., reaching up to five times the speed of sound for a record three and a half minutes.

The service called it “the longest air-breathing hypersonic flight ever.” The fourth and final mission was the culmination of a nine-year, $300 million project designed to test the viability of using more common jet fuels for hypersonic flight.

The demonstration may lead to a program to develop weapons based on the technology by 2020 and usable systems by 2025, according to Charlie Brink, manager of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s X-51A program.  

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Previous Post: Successful Test Flight Of The US Air Force's X-51A Achieving The Longest Hypersonic Flight Ever  

My Comment: They proved the science and technology. The problem now is the money .... or to be more specific .... the lack of. My prediction .... a future President would love to have the option of having a missile that can strike a target on the other side of the planet in a very short period of time .... because of this need, the money will be provided.

Why Did Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle Test Failed?

An artist's rendering of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency / April 20, 2012)

Pentagon Releases Results Of 13,000-Mph Test Flight Over Pacific -- L.A. Times

The results are in from last summer’s attempt to test new technology that would provide the Pentagon with a lightning-fast vehicle, capable of delivering a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

In August the Pentagon's research arm, known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, carried out a test flight of an experimental aircraft capable of traveling at 20 times the speed of sound.

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Update: DARPA releases cause of hypersonic glider anomaly -- AP

My Comment: Now we know why the test failed .... but with no money in the budget for additional tests, it looks like this research is going to be put on hold for now.

U.S. Budget Cuts To Hit The “Prompt Global Strike” Program

Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2

WASHINGTON -- An annual U.S. defense appropriations bill for fiscal 2012 has cut $25 million from a program aimed at developing a conventional capability to attack faraway targets on short notice (see GSN, Aug. 18).

Lawmakers said in a House-Senate conference report that new appropriations for non-nuclear “prompt global strike” systems would be reduced because of “program delays caused by two consecutive flight test failures of the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2.”

“Prompt global strike” refers to a capability sought by the Defense Department in which targets halfway around the world could be attacked within 60 minutes of a launch command. The HTV-2 technology -- a leading component in the effort to build a prompt global strike capacity -- produced two test-flight disappointments, first in April 2010 and again this past August.

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My Comment: I did not expect a cut in this program, especially since every U.S. President has always wanted this option of striking a target anywhere in the world within one hour.

U.S. Army Successfully Tests Hypersonic Weapon

Hypersonic: The U.S. has tested a weapon, which could look similar to this Falcon HTV-2, that can strike anywhere in the world within 30 minutes of being launched

U.S. Army Tests Hypersonic Weapon That Travels Five Times The Speed Of Sound... And Can Hit ANY Target On Earth In 30mins -- Daily Mail

* U.S. may no longer rely on stationing missiles abroad
* Prompt Global Strike project to hit anywhere in 60mins
* Follows 15-ton bunker busting bomb by USAF

A hypersonic flying missile that can strike a target anywhere in the world in just 30 minutes has been unveiled by the U.S. military.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW), which travels five times the speed of sound, was successfully tested yesterday.

It was launched by rocket from Hawaii at 11.30am, glided south westwards through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific at 'hypersonic speed' before hitting its target on the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands - some 2,500 miles away.

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More News On The Successful Test Of A Hypersonic Weapon

Army Successfully Tests Hypersonic Weapon Design -- Defense Tech
Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic flying bomb -- AFP
Army tests hypersonic weapon over the Pacific -- AP
2,400 Miles in Minutes? No Sweat! Hypersonic Weapon Passes ‘Easy’ Test -- Danger Room
U.S. Army Tests Secret Hypersonic Weapon -- FOX News
DoD: Army Successfully Tests Top Secret Hypersonic Weapon -- ABC News
When you absolutely have to get there fast (and bomb something) -- CNN
US army tests hypersonic weapon -- The Independent
U.S. tests Advanced Hypersonic Weapon over the Pacific -- Digital Journal
U.S. tests hypersonic weapon -- RIA Novosti
Successful Test of the U.S. Army Hypersonic Weapon Concept -- Defense Update
Space and Missile Defense Command tests hypersonic glider for possible use as conventional weapon -- Al.com
Army successfully tests new Advanced Hypersonic Weapon -- Inquisitr
Army Tests Its Own Secret Supersonic Attack Vehicle -- Gizmodo

Pentagon’s Mach 20 Craft Is Lost Over The Pacific During Test

Mach 20 Test Goes Awry, Military Craft Lost -- CBS News

(Space.com)

(Update: 1:06 p.m. EDT)The U.S. military lost contact with an unmanned hypersonic glider shortly after it launched on a test flight today (Aug. 12) as part of a global strike weapons program to develop vehicles capable of flying at Mach 20 and reach any target in the world in an hour.

The DARPA glider, called the Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a Minotaur 4 rocket at 7:45 a.m. PDT.

According to DARPA updates, the test flight appeared to go well until the glide phase, when monitoring stations lost contact with the HTV-2 vehicle.

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After launching on a rocket, DARPA's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle prototype reaches suborbital space and then re-enters Earth's atmosphere at speeds of about Mach 20 (DARPA)

More News On The Military's Lost Of The Falcon HTV-2

Falcon HTV-2 is lost during bid to become fastest ever plane -- The Guardian
U.S. loses contact with hypersonic experimental plane -- National Post
Sinking Feeling: Pentagon’s Mach 20 Craft Drops Out of Sight -- Wall Street Journal
Contact lost: 'Hypersonic glider' capable of 13,000 mph speeds -- USA Today
The Military Just Lost ANOTHER Hypersonic Jet Over The Pacific -- Business Insider
Test of hypersonic aircraft fails over Pacific Ocean -- L.A. Times
US military loses contact with hypersonic aircraft -- AFP
Hypersonic Plane: Experimental HTV-2 Launches, Loses Contact -- ABC News

My Comment: This failure will probably kill the program.

Prompt Global Strike Weapon To Be Tested Today

An artist's rendering of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. Credit: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. First launch in April 2010 of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 aboard a Minotaur IV from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Credit: Andrew Lee / U.S. Air Force.

Aircraft Set To Reach 20 Times The Speed Of Sound In Test Flight -- L.A. Times

An experimental, arrowhead-shaped aircraft that could reach blistering speeds of 13,000 mph above the Pacific Ocean is set to blast off Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara.

The flight is slated to test new technology that would provide the Pentagon a lightning-fast vehicle, capable of delivering a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

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Click on Image to Enlarge

More News On Today's Falcon Hypersonic Test

Pentagon’s Mach 20 Missile Ready for Ultimate Test -- Danger Room
Experimental Aircraft to Go From Zero to 13,000 in Hypersonic Test Launch -- FOX News
Pentagon To Test 13,000 Mph Aircraft – Falcon HTV 2 Launch From Minotaur IV Lite Rocket -- Crazy Engineers
Aircraft That Can Fly 20 Times Faster Than Sound, Pentagon's Fingers Crossed [Photos] -- IBTimes
Pentagon tests another Mach 20 speed plane -- Gant Daily
It’s Do Or Die Time For The Mach 20 Missile -- Gizmodo

Will Hypersonic Weapons Deter Chinese Military Advancements?

Blackswift. Popular Science art.

Hypersonic Weapons Could Trump Chinese Advancements -- Offiziere

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army made huge capability leaps in 2010, the fruit of a decade of steady, double-digit percentage annual budget increases. Accomplishments included matching America with 15 successful space launches; deploying its first apparent ocean-surveillance and targeting satellite system; going operational with a small number of long-range DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles; and achieving first flight with the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter prototype.

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My Comment: Developing this technology is still many years away .... and in the meantime the Chinese will keep on developing and building the (inferior) military assets that they know will work.

Another Test Of The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle Is Slated For Next Year

The Falcon HTV-2 hypervelocity vehicle could glide at a speed at Mach 20, reaching targets 4,000 nautical miles away in 30 minutes. Image: DARPA

Pentagon To Test 2nd Near-Space Strike Craft -- Washington Times

Weapon designed for urgent threats.

Defense Department scientists are set to conduct a second test launch next year of the Falcon HTV-2 experimental superweapon after the first flight this year ended when the autopilot deliberately crashed the unmanned glider into the ocean as a safety measure.

The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle is designed to skim the top of the atmosphere just below space, and is a key element of the Pentagon's Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) capability — a program to build non-nuclear strategic weapons that can strike conventionally anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

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More News on The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle

Darpa: Now We Know Why Our Mach-20 Ship Crashed -- The Danger Room
Falcon is healthy, few tweaks will suffice to fly the next mission in late 2011 -- The Register
DARPA Concludes Review Of Falcon HTV-2 Flight Anomaly -- Space Travel
DARPA: Hypersonic strato-ship crackup was no biggie -- The Register
DARPA explains Falcon HTV-2 flight failure -- Flight Global
Does US need $1bn hypersonic test area after HTV-2 failure? -- Flight Global
'Prompt Global Strike' Weapons Still Years Away -- National Defense

So Much For This Space Weapons Program

Falcon HTV-2

Plane's Flameout May End Space Weapon Plan -- Washington Times

In the language of Beltway defense wonkery, the results of this year's test launch of the hypersonic unmanned U.S. aircraft designated Falcon HTV-2 might be called sub-optimal.

In plain English, it appears certain that the experimental space plane - a key element of U.S. efforts to develop a conventional weapon that can strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour - disintegrated and burned up in the upper atmosphere in a failure that casts a question mark over the program's future.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which conducted the test flight, would say only that an engineering review board is examining data from the test flight.

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My Comment: With little if any money left over for R&D projects like this .... this program is probably dead.

Investigation On Loss Of U.S. Hypersonic Glider Continues

This conceptual image shows DARPA's original vision of the hypersonic glider, now known as the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. DARPA

Military's Hypersonic Falcon Missile Test a Dud? -- FOXNews.com

On the heels of last week's top-secret X37-B launch, the U.S. Air Force launched -- and ultimately crashed -- an experimental hypersonic glider theoretically capable of hitting Mach 20.

It was a watershed week for conspiracy theorists, with President Barack Obama throwing his support behind several major upgrades to the country's rapid-response strike capability.

On the heels of the top-secret X37-B launch, the U.S. Air Force launched an even more secret experimental hypersonic glider able to travel more than 4,000 miles in 30 minutes from launch. The craft -- dubbed the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 -- was launched via a Minotaur 4-Lite rocket Thursday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Air Force announced.

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More News On The Loss Of Darpa's Hypersonic Glider

US defense agency's hypersonic glider test fails -- AP
Radical hypersonic glider vanishes above Pacific -- The Register
DARPA Loses Contact with Mach 20 “Hypersonic Glider” During Test Flight -- Discover
Falcon has its wings clipped in hypersonic glide test -- The Tech Herald
DARPA Investigates Hypersonic Glider Loss -- Aviation Week
US's hypersonic Falcon missile test a dud? -- One India
At Mach 20, is the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 a faster 'Aurora'? -- News.com.uk

Don't Tell Anyone: Hypersonic Glider Blasts Off

From ITWire:

An experimental, and very secret, hypersonic glider called the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2a (Falcon HTV-2a) was launched over the Pacific Ocean from California on April 22, 2010 by the U.S. DARPA and the USAF.

The DARPA Falcon Project is a joint program between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force (USAF).

Falcon is short for (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States),

According to a DARPA Factsheet, the HTP-2 vehicle is to allow the U.S. military “… the capability to respond, with little or no advanced warning, to threats to our national security anywhere around the globe.”

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Update: DARPA confirms mission’s failure -- Santa Maria Times

My Comment: Another secret program disclosed. Hmmmm .....