Ummm... Ferg? I am NOT an expert (Just a babyboomer with a good memory) but MIRVed missiles were invented in 1968 and deployed on US Minuteman 3 ICBMs in 1970. Nothing new here, except a rather blunt reminder that Vlad the Invader has them mounted on IRBMs. Odd that the strike pattern was so tight-- ALL ballistic warheads are "hypersonic", but IIRC, the US ones could strike many miles part. Looks like the Russian ones are not that maneuverable.
Real question-- do the real warheads still work? Were they stolen or sold? No clue.
I'm certainly not a expert either just found it all interesting. "All ballistic warheads are hypersonic" agreed but they only get classed as hyper sonic north of mach 5 which below article outlines US has yet to field and more importantly isn't able to intercept. https://news.usni.org/2024/06/25/report-to-congress-on-hypersonic-missile-defense-4
'Hypersonic" is a marketing term... MIRVs and other ballistic warheads re-enter at Mach 25. Nobody in the West really invested in ABM for a long time after the 1972 treaty. The US SEEMS to have gone more towards stealthy cruise missile technology, and shops like Anduril are driving-down the cost.
(I wasted a LOT of research time when the big defense contractors started using the term... STILL not really investable, but... blinky lights, big booms, BIGGER cashflow. <sigh>)
Just fill in the ICBM warheads with concrete or tungsten and voilà, a kinetic energy hypersonic ballistic missile.
Russia violated the agreement and produced mid-range missiles, the same as ICBMs but with one less propulsion stage, called IRBMs, that's what was used.
Ummm... Ferg? I am NOT an expert (Just a babyboomer with a good memory) but MIRVed missiles were invented in 1968 and deployed on US Minuteman 3 ICBMs in 1970. Nothing new here, except a rather blunt reminder that Vlad the Invader has them mounted on IRBMs. Odd that the strike pattern was so tight-- ALL ballistic warheads are "hypersonic", but IIRC, the US ones could strike many miles part. Looks like the Russian ones are not that maneuverable.
Real question-- do the real warheads still work? Were they stolen or sold? No clue.
I'm certainly not a expert either just found it all interesting. "All ballistic warheads are hypersonic" agreed but they only get classed as hyper sonic north of mach 5 which below article outlines US has yet to field and more importantly isn't able to intercept. https://news.usni.org/2024/06/25/report-to-congress-on-hypersonic-missile-defense-4
'Hypersonic" is a marketing term... MIRVs and other ballistic warheads re-enter at Mach 25. Nobody in the West really invested in ABM for a long time after the 1972 treaty. The US SEEMS to have gone more towards stealthy cruise missile technology, and shops like Anduril are driving-down the cost.
(I wasted a LOT of research time when the big defense contractors started using the term... STILL not really investable, but... blinky lights, big booms, BIGGER cashflow. <sigh>)
The comment below is right.
Just fill in the ICBM warheads with concrete or tungsten and voilà, a kinetic energy hypersonic ballistic missile.
Russia violated the agreement and produced mid-range missiles, the same as ICBMs but with one less propulsion stage, called IRBMs, that's what was used.
Nothing too innovative.