Indian development
Organization of defense research and development of the Ministry of Defense of India DRDO has been engaged in the creation of hypersonic ground-based weapons for more than ten years. She achieved the greatest successes in the framework of the Shourya project, while the other two programs - BrahMos II K and HSTDV (Hypersonic Technology Demonstrating Vehicle) - are moving forward with greater problems.
The development of tactical hypersonic missile complex of the earth-earth class Shourya began in India in the 1990s. The range of the missile of this complex, according to some information, is 700 km and can be increased by the accuracy of striking - 20-30 m. The Shourya rocket can be launched from a launch container mounted on a mobile transport-loading PU 4x4, static platform or in a mine.
In the container version, a two-stage rocket is launched using a gas generator (GG) in which the corresponding burning rate of the fuel provides the high pressure necessary to push the rocket out of the container.
The flight of the 1st stage lasts for 60-90 s and for the subsequent work of the 2nd stage it is reset with the help of a small pyrotechnic device that acts as pitch and heading control motors.
The gas generator and engines developed by the high energy materials laboratory HEMRL (High Energy Materials Research Laboratory) and the Advanced Systems Laboratory of the DRDO organization accelerate the missile to a speed of M = 3.
The engines of all stages operate on a specially designed solid fuel, allowing to reach hypersonic speeds. The missile weighs 6.5 tons and can carry a high-explosive warhead weighing almost one ton or a 17-kiloton nuclear warhead.
The first ground tests of the Shourya rocket were carried out in 2004, and subsequent test launches in November 2008 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur. During these tests, a speed of M = 5 and a range of 300 km was achieved.
Tests of the final configuration of the Shourya missile complex of mine-based basing took place in September 2011. They became possible thanks to the ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer developed and integrated by the Research Center Imarat of DRDO organization.As stated, this prototype has improved characteristics, navigation and guidance system .With the installed on the 1st stage specially developed gyroscope, the maneuverability of the rocket and the accuracy of the impact increase.In the course of test launches from the mine, the rocket reached the speed M = 7.5, breaking the distance of 700 km at low altitude at the temperature of the ited to 700 piles S.
The Ministry of Defense of India reported that the latest tests of the Shourya complex took place in August 2016 at the ITR training ground. The flight took place at an altitude of 40 km, at a speed M = 7.5 and at a range of 700 km. The first 50 m rocket flew on a ballistic trajectory, and then went on a cruise hypersonic flight, maneuvering on the final stretch before hitting the target, the Ministry of Defense said.
At the DefExpo 2018 salon, officials told Jane's that the next version of the missile would be improved in the direction of increasing range. Its production will be mastered by Bharat Dynamics Limited, BDL. However, the management of BDL reported that it did not receive any instructions from DRDO on this issue. This suggests that the process of modernization of Shourya is still going on, but the information is not disclosed by DRDO.
In parallel, India and Russia are jointly developing the hypersonic cruise missile BrahMos-2 (K) within the BrahMos Aerospace JV. At the same time, DRDO is developing a HVRD for this missile. As reported in BrahMos Aerospace, the ground tests of the engine were successful. Also with the help of Russia, a special fuel is being developed that allows the missile to develop hypersonic speeds. No information about the project was disclosed, and at the "DefExpo-2018", sources familiar with the situation told Jane's that the works are at the preliminary design stage and it may take at least a decade before the real BrahMos-2 rocket appears.
Although the success of the BrahMos supersonic rocket line has been proven as part of their deployment in the arsenal of the Indian Armed Forces, the Indian Institute of Technologies, the Indian Institute of Sciences and Brahmos Aerospace are currently conducting large-scale studies on the development of materials that could be used in the "BRAHMOS-2" to resist the high aerodynamic and thermal loads associated with hypersonic speeds.
According to Kumar Mishra, General Director and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace JV, the Russian Zircon and BrahMos-2 missiles have unified engines and all technologies in the field of the power plant, while the guidance system, software, glider and MSA are developed separately for each of the products .
BrahMos-2 is designed for a range of 450 km and a cruising speed of M = 7. Initially, the range was fixed at 290 km, as Russia is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Now India has also joined the MTCR, but is trying to increase the range. It is expected that the missile will be produced in air, land and ship-based versions, as well as in a configuration for launching from a submarine. DRDO plans to invest 250 million dollars to conduct flight tests of the missile at speeds M = 5.56 at sea level.
Meanwhile, the Indian HSTDV project, which uses the HVTD to demonstrate an autonomous sustainable flight, has encountered design difficulties. The GRDD technology is handled by DRDL's Defense Research and Development Laboratory (Defense Research and Development Laboratory). HSTDV is designed to fly at a speed of M = 6 at an altitude of 30 km for 20 using a launch vehicle. The design of the basic design of the gas compressor unit, including a glider and a docked engine, was completed in 2005. A major part of the aerodynamic tests was carried out by the Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), an aircraft construction company that is a member of the State Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
In the NAL laboratory, the reduced HSTDV model, related to the air intake and extended aerodynamic conditions, was tested. In ADT, several tests were conducted on the transition of supersonic velocities to hypersonic ones by means of a combination of a shock wave and an expansion wave.
Meanwhile, the DRDL laboratory specializes in works in the field of materials, electrical and mechanical interfaces, and a state of emergency. The first basic HSTDV project was presented to the general public at a local conference in 2010, and at the Aeroindia 2011 exhibition in Bangalore. DRDO planned to build a full-scale prototype by 2016. However, due to the lack of funding for research in the field of hypersound, limited technologies and equipment, the project is progressing at a slow pace.
At the same time, the system aerodynamics, heat processes and characteristics of the LRTD are considered to be investigated within the framework of this project and a full-scale air-propulsion propulsion system is expected to provide thrust of 6 kN, which will allow launching satellites, as well as nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles and missiles, flying on a non-linear trajectory - for a longer range. The device is an octagonal structure with a mass of 1 t equipped with flight control stabilizers in the middle of the fuselage and deflected rudders in the tail section.
At the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigar, tests are being carried out in the area of critical technologies such as the combustion chamber of the SHVRD and the separation of panels. DRDO expects to create hypersonic ADTs for HSTDV tests, but the equipment necessary for this is available in very limited quantities and is very expensive.
With the advent of modern integrated missile defense systems that promote the development of an anti-access / area denial zone (A2 / AD), the world's armed forces have begun to explore the potential of hypersonic weapons to counteract A2 / AD and causing rapid regional or global strikes . In the late 2000s, defense programs began to focus on hypersonic weapons as a global weapons strike system. Since then, the military has been looking for ever-increasing resources in the development of these technologies, and geopolitical competition in this area is steadily growing.
In the case of hypersonic ground-based weapons, especially launched outside the enemy's air defenses, the optimal and less risky launch options are the currently available standard launchers-either mobile for ground-to-ground or ground-to-air weapons, or mine for say strikes middle or intercontinental range, experts say Jane's.
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