The US is turning to the private sector for help in creating hypersonic weaponsThe American authorities still deny that the United States is lagging behind Russia and China in the field of hypersonic weapons, Asia Times writes.
Despite this, the United States recently decided to involve private companies in the creation of a supersonic test aircraft.
Gabriel HonradaThe United States plans to use private sector investment in commercial hypersonic aircraft technology to build a high-speed test aircraft.
This is another attempt by Washington to accelerate the implementation of the hypersonic weapons program in order to catch up with rivals such as China and Russia.
In September, the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) posted a notification about a project called "Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities" (HyCAT). It seeks to obtain commercial proposals for the supply of new hypersonic aircraft that can be used for frequent testing and evaluation of new and already under development hypersonic technologies.
The DIU notification states that the US-owned ground-based and sea-based hypersonic weapons testing ranges are designed to conduct rare operationally representative tests that repeat the characteristics of hypersonic weapons. The document also mentions that the slow pace of research and development in the field of hypersonic weapons in the United States has led to the creation of more expensive and less effective models.
The C4ISRNET website, specializing in defense, reports that the testing infrastructure of the United States significantly hinders the development of hypersonic weapons. Within the most important programs, only a few tests are conducted per year.
In his interview with C4ISRNET on September 1, Barry Kirkendall, DIU's technical director for space, noted that it would be ideal to conduct tests once a week. According to him, the HyCAT project is designed to eliminate some of the problems that have hindered the implementation of the hypersonic weapons testing program over the past decade.
C4ISTRNET mentions that the HyCAT project is being developed in cooperation with the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office at the Pentagon and with Mike White, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Research and Development.
Moreover, Kirkendall mentioned that this Pentagon service contacted DIU in March, that is, a month after senior American officials met with the heads of the hypersonic industry to discuss obstacles to the implementation of the American program to create such weapons.
According to the Asia Times, this important February meeting was attended by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, as well as the heads of leading US defense companies, and its purpose was to collect data on what hinders the development of hypersonic weapons in the United States.
Sector leaders mentioned several difficulties, including supply chain problems, obstacles to procurement, budget instability and inadequate access to testing facilities. They also warned that in the absence of suitable test sites, the Ministry of Defense will face a lot of problems in implementing the "conduct tests more often and learn from your mistakes" approach.
Failures in testing hypersonic technologies in the United States may be associated with an overly complex design of weapons, haste in testing, inept project management and belittling the value of costly failures.
The United States is several years behind the Chinese and Russian hypersonic weapons programs. It will take several years to bring to mind the technologies that are involved in the accelerated program to create working prototypes.
Despite these obvious omissions and shortcomings, according to Kirkendall, the DIU division has achieved good results with the help of investors' money, and the HyCAT project allows solving the problems of testing hypersonic technologies and strengthens relations with the commercial sector. He also noted that DIU expects to cooperate with investors from Japan, Australia, Norway and India.
Australia can give the American hypersonic weapons program a much-needed technological boost. In March, the Australian private company Hypersonix presented to US officials a new type of hypersonic ramjet engine, which allegedly has a number of advantages over American developments and can be printed on a 3D printer in three weeks, as reported by the Asia Times.
However, according to Hypersonix, the high-temperature composites required for this engine are not available in Australia. The company emphasizes the urgent need to develop and produce them domestically.
India can also become a partner of the American HyCAT program to help in the development of hypersonic weapons. Earlier, Asia Times reported that US sanctions against the Russian "Scientific and Production Association of Mechanical Engineering" could disrupt the development of the Indian Brahmos II hypersonic missile, a joint project with Russia.
Anticipating such an opportunity, India pays attention to other hypersonic weapons projects that are being conducted and funded separately from Brahmos II.
It is noteworthy that the DIU tender for the HyCAT project was announced against the background of the fact that US officials continue to deny America's lag behind China and Russia in the field of hypersonic weapons.
Despite several test failures, the United States insists that it would be misleading to consider its hypersonic weapons development program as part of an arms race with China and Russia.
Among the arguments that the United States cites against such a position are the development of anti–hypersonic defense systems, the uncertainty of the impact of hypersonic weapons on the strategic nuclear deterrent system and the lack of a clear doctrine regarding its use by the country's armed forces.
Despite the denial of the hypersonic arms race, the United States may be beginning to realize their deterrent potential.
Lieutenant General Steven Rudder, commander of the US Marine Corps in the Pacific, noted that the potential for long-range strikes, embodied in hypersonic weapons, will be crucial for the United States and Japan in deterring China in the Pacific.
The United States is negotiating with Japan to deploy an anti-ship unit in 2027, while America is creating coastal marine regiments equipped with anti-ship missiles.
The Asia Times also reported on the OpFires hypersonic ground-based missile system of the US Marine Corps, which was successfully tested in July this year.
OpFires can strengthen the air and naval forces of the United States and its allies by providing a near-permanent presence in contested areas, as well as operational and tactical cover for naval and air operations.
