Hypersonic speed. New generation hypersonic strike systems Supersonic aircraft

Hypersonic is an aircraft capable of flying at hypersonic speeds.

What is hypersonic speed

In aerodynamics, a quantity is often used that shows the ratio of the speed of a flow or body to the speed of sound. This ratio is called the Mach number, named after the Austrian scientist Ernst Mach, who laid the foundations for supersonic aerodynamics.

Where M – Mach number;

u – air flow or body speed,

c s – speed of sound propagation.

In the atmosphere under normal conditions, the speed of sound is approximately 331 m/s. The speed of a body at Mach 1 corresponds to the speed of sound. Supersonic speed is called in the range from 1 to 5 Mach. If it exceeds 5 Mach, then this is already the hypersonic range. This division is conditional, since there is no clear boundary between supersonic and hypersonic speeds. This is how they agreed to count in the 70s of the twentieth century.

From the history of aviation

"Silbertvogel"

They first tried to create a hypersonic aircraft during World War II in Nazi Germany. The author of this project, which was called “ Silbertvogel"(silver bird) was the Austrian scientist Eugen Senger. The plane had other names: “ America Bomber», « Orbital Bomber», « Antipodal-Bomber», « Atmosphere Skipper», « Ural-Bomber" It was a rocket-propelled bomber that could carry up to 30 tons of bombs. It was intended to bomb the United States and industrial areas of Russia. Fortunately, in those days it was impossible to build such an aircraft in practice, and it remained only in drawings.

North American X-15

In the 60s of the twentieth century, the first ever rocket plane, the X-15, was created in the United States, the main task of which was to study flight conditions at hypersonic speeds. This device was able to overcome a height of 80 km. The record was considered to be the flight of Joe Walker, performed in 1963, when an altitude of 107.96 km and a speed of 5.58 M were achieved.

The X-15 was suspended under the wing of the B-52 strategic bomber. At an altitude of 15 km, it separated from the carrier aircraft. At that moment, his own liquid-propellant rocket engine started up. It worked for 85 seconds and turned off. By this time, the plane's speed had reached 39 m/s. At the highest point of the trajectory (apogee), the device was already outside the atmosphere and was in weightlessness for almost 4 minutes. The pilot carried out the planned research, used gas rudders to direct the plane into the atmosphere and soon landed. The altitude record achieved by the X-15 lasted almost 40 years, until 2004.

X-20 Dyna Soar

From 1957 to 1963 By order of the US Air Force, Boeing developed the X-20 manned space interceptor-reconnaissance bomber. The program was called X-20 Dyna-Soar. The X-20 was to be launched into orbit at an altitude of 160 km by a launch vehicle. The plane's speed was planned to be slightly lower than the first cosmic speed, so that it would not become a satellite of the Earth. From a height, the plane had to “dive” into the atmosphere, descending to 60-70 km, and carry out either photography or bombing. Then he rose again, but to a height less than the original one, and again “dive” even lower. And so on until he landed at the airfield.

In practice, several X-20 models were made, and astronaut pilots were trained. But for a number of reasons the program was cancelled.

Project "Spiral"

In response to the program X-20 Dyna-Soar in the 1960s The Spiral project was launched in the USSR. This was a fundamentally new system. It was assumed that a powerful booster aircraft with air-breathing engines, weighing 52 tons and 28 m long, accelerates to a speed of 6 M. A manned orbital aircraft weighing 10 tons and 8 m long will launch from its “back” at an altitude of 28-30 km Both aircraft taking off from the airfield together could each individually carry out an independent landing. In addition, the booster aircraft with its hypersonic speed was also planned to be used as a passenger airliner.

Since new technologies were required to create such a hypersonic booster aircraft, the project provided for the possibility of using not a hypersonic, but a supersonic aircraft.

The entire system was developed in 1966 at the OKB-155 design bureau by A.I. Mikoyan. Two versions of the model underwent a full cycle of aerodynamic research at the Central Aerodynamic Institute named after. Professor N.E. Zhukovsky in 1965 – 1975 But it still didn’t work out to create the plane. And this program, like the American one, was curtailed.

Hypersonic aviation

By the beginning of the 70s. In the 20th century, flights at supersonic speeds became commonplace for military aircraft. Supersonic passenger planes also appeared. Aerospace aircraft could pass through dense layers of the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.

In the USSR, work on a hypersonic aircraft began at the Tupolev Design Bureau in the mid-70s. Research and design was carried out on an aircraft capable of reaching speeds of up to 6 M (TU-260) with a flight range of up to 12,000 km, as well as a hypersonic intercontinental aircraft TU-360. Its flight range was supposed to reach 16,000 km. A project for a passenger hypersonic aircraft was even prepared, designed to fly at an altitude of 28-32 km at a speed of 4.5 - 5 Mach.

But in order for airplanes to fly at supersonic speeds, their engines must have features of both aviation and space technology. Existing air-breathing engines (WRDs) that used atmospheric air had temperature restrictions and could be used at airplanes whose speeds did not exceed 3 M. And rocket engines had to carry a large supply of fuel on board and were not suitable for long flights in the atmosphere.

It turned out that the most rational for a hypersonic aircraft is a ramjet engine (ramjet engine), which has no rotating parts, in combination with a turbojet engine (TRE) for acceleration. It was assumed that liquid hydrogen ramjet engines were most suitable for flights at hypersonic speeds. And the booster engine is a turbojet engine running on kerosene or liquid hydrogen.

For the first time, the X-43A unmanned vehicle was equipped with a ramjet engine, which, in turn, was installed on the Pegasus cruise launch vehicle.

On March 29, 2004, a B-52 bomber took off in California. When it reached an altitude of 12 km, the X-43A took off from it. At an altitude of 29 km, it separated from the launch vehicle. At this moment, his own ramjet launched. It worked for only 10 seconds, but was able to reach a hypersonic speed of 7 Mach.

At the moment, the X-43A is the fastest aircraft in the world. It is capable of reaching speeds of up to 11,230 km/h and can rise to a height of up to 50 km. But this is still an unmanned aerial vehicle. But the hour is not far off when hypersonic aircraft will appear, on which ordinary passengers will be able to fly.

Although the era of the Cold War is in the past, today there are still enough problems in the world that must be solved with the help of the latest developments in the field of weapons. At first glance, the world's main problems come from terrorist groups; relations between some major world powers are also quite tense.

Recently, relations between Russia and the United States have become extremely strained. Using NATO, the United States surrounds Russia with missile defense systems. Concerned by this, Russia has begun developing hypersonic aircraft, so-called “drones,” that can carry nuclear warheads. It is with these projects that the secret supersonic glider Yu-71 is associated, the tests of which are carried out in the strictest secrecy.

History of the development of hypersonic weapons

The first tests of aircraft capable of flying at speeds exceeding the speed of sound began back in the 50s of the 20th century. This was associated with the era of the Cold War, when the two strongest superpowers in the world (the USA and the USSR) tried to beat each other in the arms race. The first Soviet development in this area was the Spiral system. It was a small orbital aircraft, and had to meet the following parameters:

• The system was supposed to be superior to the American X-20 "Dyna Soar", which was a similar project;
• The hypersonic carrier aircraft was supposed to provide a speed of about 7,000 km/h;
• The system had to be reliable and not fall apart under overload.

Despite all the efforts of Soviet designers, the characteristics of the hypersonic carrier aircraft did not even come close to the coveted speed figure. The project had to be closed because the system did not even take off. To the great joy of the Soviet government, the American tests also failed miserably. At that time, world aviation was still infinitely far from speeds exceeding several times the speed of sound.

Tests that were already closer to technologies related to hypersound took place in 1991, then in the USSR. Then the flight of “Kholod” was carried out, which was a flying laboratory created on the basis of the S-200 missile system, based on the 5B28 rocket. The first test was quite successful, as it was possible to reach a speed of about 1,900 km/h. Developments in this area continued until 1998, after which they were curtailed due to the economic crisis.

Development of supersonic technologies in the 21st century

Although there is no exact information on the development of hypersonic weapons for the period from 2000 to 2010, having collected materials from open sources, one can see that these developments were carried out in several directions:

• First of all, warheads are being developed for ballistic intercontinental missiles. Although their mass is much higher than conventional missiles of this class, due to maneuvers in the atmosphere they will not be intercepted by standard missile defense systems;
• The next direction in the development of supersonic technologies is the development of the Zircon complex. This complex is based on the supersonic missile defense system "Yakhont/Oniks";
• A missile system is also being developed, the rockets of which will be able to reach speeds that exceed the speed of sound 13 times.

If all these projects are united in one holding company, then the rocket that will be created through joint efforts can be both ground-based, airborne or ship-based. If the American project “Prompt Global Strike,” which envisages the creation of supersonic weapons capable of hitting anywhere in the world within one hour, is successful, Russia will only be able to be protected by intercontinental supersonic missiles of its own design.

Russian supersonic missiles, the tests of which are recorded by British and American experts, are capable of speeds of about 11,200 km/h. They are almost impossible to shoot down and even extremely difficult to track. There is very little information about this project, which is often referred to as Yu-71 or “object 4202”.

The most famous facts about Russia's secret weapon Yu-71

The secret Yu-71 glider, which is part of Russia's supersonic missile program, is capable of flying to New York in 40 minutes. Although this information has not been officially confirmed, based on the fact that supersonic Russian missiles are capable of reaching speeds of over 11,00 km/h, exactly the same conclusions can be drawn.

According to the little information that can be found about it, the Yu-71 glider is capable of:

• Fly at speeds over 11,000 km/h;
• Has incredible maneuverability;
• Able to plan;
• During the flight it can go into space.

Although the tests have not yet been completed, everything suggests that by 2025, Russia may have this supersonic glider armed with nuclear warheads. Such a weapon will be capable of being almost anywhere in the world within an hour and delivering a targeted nuclear strike.

Dmitry Rogozin said that the Russian defense industry, which was the most developed and advanced during the Soviet era, fell far behind in the arms race during the 90s and 2000s. Over the past decade, the Russian army has begun to revive. Soviet technology is being replaced by modern high-tech models, and fifth-generation weapons, which have been “stuck” in design bureaus in the form of projects on paper since the 90s, are beginning to take on very specific shapes. According to Rogozin, new Russian weapons may surprise the world with their unpredictability. By unpredictable weapon, they most likely meant the Yu-71 glider, armed with nuclear warheads.

Although this device has been in development since at least 2010, information about its tests reached the US military only in 2015. The Pentagon fell into complete despondency because of this, because if the Yu-71 is used, the entire missile defense system, which is installed along the perimeter of Russian territory, becomes absolutely useless. In addition, the United States of America itself becomes defenseless against this secret nuclear glider.

The Yu-71 is capable of not only delivering nuclear strikes against the enemy. Thanks to the presence of a powerful, ultra-modern electronic warfare system, the glider is capable of disabling all detection stations equipped with electronic equipment in a few minutes, flying over US territory.

If you believe NATO reports, then from 2020 to 2025, up to 24 Yu-71 type devices may appear in the Russian army, any of which is capable of crossing the enemy border undetected and destroying an entire city with a few shots.

Russian plans for the development of hyperweapons

Although no official statements have been made in Russia regarding the adoption of the Yu-71, it is known that development began at least in 2009. Back in 2004, a statement was made that a spacecraft capable of reaching hypersonic speeds had successfully passed tests. It is also known that the test vehicle is capable of not only flying along a given course, but also performing various maneuvers in flight.

The key feature of the new weapon will be precisely this ability to maneuver at supersonic speeds. Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov argues that modern intercontinental missiles are capable of reaching supersonic speeds, although they act only as ballistic warheads. The flight trajectory of these missiles is easy to calculate and prevent. The main danger to the enemy is precisely controlled aircraft, which are able to change the direction of movement and at the same time move along a complex and unpredictable trajectory.

At a meeting of the military-industrial commission, which was held in Tula on September 19, 2012, Dmitry Rogozin made a statement that we should expect the emergence of a new holding that will take over all aspects of the development of hypersonic technologies. Also at this conference, the enterprises that should be part of the new holding were named:

• NPO Mashinostroyenia, which is now directly involved in the development of supersonic technologies. To create a holding, NPO Mashinostroyenia must leave Roscosmos;
• The next part of the new holding should be the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation;
• The Almaz-Antey concern, whose field of activity currently lies in the area of ​​anti-missile and aerospace, should also actively assist the holding in its work.

Although, according to Rogozin, this merger has long been necessary, due to some legal aspects, it has not yet taken place. Rogozin emphasized that this process is precisely a merger, and not an acquisition of one company by another. It is this process that will significantly accelerate the development of hypersonic technologies in the military field.

Director of the Center for Analysis of the Global Arms Trade, military expert and chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Igor Korotchenko supports the merger ideas voiced by Rogozin. According to him, the new holding will be able to fully concentrate its efforts on creating new promising types of weapons. Since both enterprises have enormous capabilities, together they will be able to make a significant contribution to the development of the Russian defense complex.

If by 2025 Russia will be armed with not only hypersonic missiles with nuclear warheads, but also Yu-71 gliders, this will be a serious application in negotiations with the United States. Due to the fact that America is accustomed to acting from a position of strength in all negotiations of this type, dictating only favorable conditions to the other side, full-fledged negotiations with it can be conducted only by possessing new powerful weapons. The only way to force the United States to listen to the words of its opponent is to seriously frighten the Pentagon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Army 2015 conference, noted that nuclear forces will receive 40 of the latest intercontinental missiles. Many understood that this meant hypersonic missiles that are able to overcome all known missile defense systems. The president’s words are indirectly confirmed by Viktor Murakhovsky (member of the expert council under the chairman of the military-industrial commission), saying that Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles are being improved every year.

Russia is developing cruise missiles that can fly at hypersonic speeds. These missiles are capable of reaching targets at ultra-low altitudes. All modern missile defense systems in service with NATO are unable to hit targets flying at such low altitudes. In addition, all modern missile defense systems are capable of intercepting targets flying at a speed of no more than 800 meters per second, so even if you do not count the Yu71 glider, there are enough supersonic Russian intercontinental missiles to render NATO missile defense systems useless.

According to the latest data, it is known that the USA and China are also developing their own analogue of the Yu-71, only the Chinese development can be a real competitor to the Russian development. The Americans, to their deepest sorrow, have so far failed to achieve serious success in this area.

The Chinese glider is known as Wu-14. This device was officially tested only in 2012, but as a result of these tests it was able to reach speeds of over 11,000 km/h. Although the general public is aware of the speed qualities of the Chinese development, there is not a word anywhere about the weapons that the Chinese glider will be equipped with.

The American supersonic drone Falcon HTV-2, which was tested several years ago, suffered a crushing fiasco - it simply lost control and crashed after 10 minutes of flight.

If supersonic weapons become the standard weapon of the Russian Space Force, then the entire missile defense system will become practically useless. The introduction of supersonic technologies will create a real revolution in the military sphere throughout the world.

The Cold War, which took place between the USA and the USSR in 1946-1991, is long over. At least that's what many experts think. However, the arms race did not stop for a minute, and even today it is in the stage of active development. Despite the fact that today the main threats to the country are terrorist groups, relations between world powers are also tense. All this creates conditions for the development of military technologies, one of which is a hypersonic aircraft.

Necessity

Relations between the United States and Russia are greatly strained. And although at the official level the United States in Russia is called a partner country, many political and military experts argue that there is an unspoken war between the countries not only on the political front, but also on the military one in the form of an arms race. In addition, the United States is actively using NATO to encircle Russia with its missile defense systems.

This cannot but worry the leadership of Russia, which has long ago begun developing unmanned aerial vehicles that exceed hypersonic speed. These drones can be equipped with a nuclear warhead, and they can easily deliver a bomb to anywhere in the world, and quite quickly. A similar hypersonic aircraft has already been created - this is the Yu-71 airliner, which is currently being tested in strict secrecy.

Development of hypersonic weapons

For the first time, testing aircraft that could fly at the speed of sound began in the 50s of the 20th century. Then it was still associated with the so-called Cold War, when two developed powers (USSR and the USA) sought to overtake each other in the arms race. The first project was the Spiral system, which was a compact orbital aircraft. It was supposed to compete with and even surpass the US hypersonic aircraft X-20 Dyna Soar. Also, the Soviet aircraft had to be able to reach speeds of up to 7000 km/h and not fall apart in the atmosphere under overloads.

And although Soviet scientists and designers tried to bring such an idea to life, they failed to even come close to the cherished characteristics. The prototype did not even take off, but the USSR government breathed a sigh of relief when the American plane also failed during testing. The technologies of that time, including in the aviation industry, were infinitely far from the current ones, so the creation of an aircraft that could exceed the speed of sound several times was doomed to failure.

However, in 1991, a test was carried out of an aircraft that could reach speeds exceeding the speed of sound. It was a flying laboratory "Cold", created on the basis of the 5V28 rocket. The test was successful, and then the plane was able to reach a speed of 1900 km/h. Despite progress, development was stopped after 1998 due to the economic crisis.

Technologies of the 21st century

There is no accurate and official information about the development of hypersonic aircraft. However, if we collect materials from open sources, we can conclude that such developments were carried out in several directions at once:

1. Creation of warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Their mass exceeded the mass of standard missiles, but due to the ability to maneuver in the atmosphere, it is impossible or, at least, extremely difficult to intercept them with missile defense systems.
2. The development of the Zircon complex is another direction in the development of technology, which is based on the use of the Yakhont supersonic missile defense system.
3. Creation of a complex whose rockets can exceed the speed of sound 13 times.

If all these projects are united in one holding company, then by joint efforts an air-, ground- or ship-based missile can be created. If the Prompt Global Strike project, created in the United States, is successful, then the Americans will have the opportunity to hit anywhere in the world within one hour. Russia will be able to defend itself only with technologies of its own development.

American and British experts have recorded tests of supersonic missiles that can reach speeds of up to 11,200 km/h. Given such a high speed, it is almost impossible to shoot them down (not a single missile defense system in the world is capable of this). Moreover, they are even extremely difficult to spy on. There is very little information about the project, which sometimes appears under the name "Yu-71".

What is known about the Russian hypersonic aircraft "Yu-71"?

Considering that the project is classified, there is very little information about it. It is known that this glider is part of a supersonic rocket program, and in theory it is capable of flying to New York in 40 minutes. Of course, this information has no official confirmation and exists at the level of guesswork and rumors. But given that Russian supersonic missiles can reach speeds of 11,200 km/h, such conclusions seem quite logical.

According to various sources, the hypersonic aircraft "Yu-71":

1. Has high maneuverability.
2. Can plan.
3. Capable of reaching speeds of over 11,000 km/h.
4. Can go into space during a flight.

Statements

At the moment, tests of the Russian hypersonic aircraft "Yu-71" have not yet been completed. However, some experts argue that by 2025 Russia may receive this supersonic glider, and it could be equipped with nuclear weapons. Such an aircraft will be put into service, and in theory it will be capable of delivering a targeted nuclear strike anywhere on the planet within just one hour.

Russia's representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said the USSR's once most developed and advanced industry had fallen behind the arms race in recent decades. However, more recently the army has begun to revive. Outdated Soviet technology is being replaced by new models of Russian developments. In addition, fifth-generation weapons, stuck in the 90s in the form of projects on papers, are taking on visible shape. According to the politician, new models of Russian weapons may surprise the world with their unpredictability. It is likely that Rogozin is referring to the new hypersonic aircraft Yu-71, which can carry a nuclear warhead.

It is believed that the development of this aircraft began in 2010, but the United States learned about it only in 2015. If the information about its technical characteristics is true, then the Pentagon will have to solve a difficult problem, since the missile defense systems used in Europe and on its territory will not be able to provide counteraction to such an aircraft. In addition, the United States and many other countries will simply be defenseless against such weapons.

Other functions

In addition to the ability to launch nuclear strikes on the enemy, the glider, thanks to powerful modern electronic warfare equipment, will be able to conduct reconnaissance and also disable devices equipped with electronic equipment.

If you believe NATO reports, then from approximately 2020 to 2025, up to 24 such aircraft may appear in the Russian army, which will be able to cross the border unnoticed and destroy an entire city with just a few shots.

Development plans

Of course, there is no data regarding the adoption of the promising Yu-71 aircraft, but it is known that it has been in development since 2009. In this case, the device will be able not only to fly in a straight path, but also to maneuver.

It is maneuverability at hypersonic speeds that will become a feature of the aircraft. Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov argues that intercontinental missiles can reach supersonic speeds, but at the same time they act like conventional ballistic warheads. Consequently, their flight path is easily calculated, which makes it possible for the missile defense system to shoot them down. But controlled aircraft pose a serious threat to the enemy, since their trajectory is unpredictable. Consequently, it is impossible to determine at what point the bomb will be released, and since the release point cannot be determined, the trajectory of the warhead’s fall is not calculated.

In Tula on September 19, 2012, at a meeting of the military-industrial commission, Dmitry Rogozin said that a new holding should soon be created, the task of which would be to develop hypersonic technologies. The enterprises that will be part of the holding were immediately named:

1. "Tactical missile weapons."
2. "NPO Mashinostroyenia" At the moment, the company is developing supersonic technologies, but at the moment the company is part of the Roscosmos structure.
3. The next member of the holding should be the Almaz-Antey concern, which is currently developing technologies for the aerospace and missile defense industries.

Rogozin believes that such a merger is necessary, but legal aspects do not allow it to take place. It is also noted that the creation of a holding does not imply the absorption of one company by another. This is precisely the merger and joint work of all enterprises, which will speed up the development of hypersonic technologies.

Chairman of the Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Korotchenko also supports the idea of ​​creating a holding company that would develop hypersonic technologies. According to him, the new holding is really necessary, because it will allow all efforts to be directed towards creating a promising type of weapon. Both companies have great potential, but individually they will not be able to achieve the results that are possible by combining their efforts. It is together that they will be able to contribute to the development of the Russian defense complex and create the fastest aircraft in the world, the speed of which will exceed expectations.

Weapons as a tool of political struggle

If by 2025 not only hypersonic missiles with nuclear warheads are in service, but also Yu-71 gliders, this will seriously strengthen Russia’s political position in negotiations with the United States. And this is completely logical, because all countries during negotiations act from a position of strength, dictating favorable conditions to the opposite side. Equal negotiations between the two countries are possible only if both sides have powerful weapons.

Vladimir Putin, during a speech at the Army 2015 conference, said that nuclear forces are receiving 40 new intercontinental missiles. These turned out to be hypersonic missiles, and they can currently overcome existing missile defense systems. Viktor Murakhovsky, a member of the expert council of the military-industrial commission, confirms that ICBMs are being improved every year.

Russia is also testing and developing new cruise missiles that can fly at hypersonic speeds. They can approach targets at ultra-low altitudes, making them virtually invisible to radar. Moreover, modern missile defense systems in service with NATO cannot hit such missiles due to their low flight altitude. In addition, in theory, they are capable of intercepting targets moving at speeds of up to 800 meters per second, and the speed of the Yu-71 aircraft and cruise missiles is much higher. This makes NATO missile defense systems almost useless.

Projects from other countries

It is known that China and the United States are also developing an analogue of the Russian hypersonic aircraft. The characteristics of the enemy models are still unclear, but we can already assume that the Chinese development is capable of competing with the Russian aircraft.

Known as the Wu-14, the Chinese aircraft was tested in 2012, and even then it was able to reach speeds of over 11,000 km/h. However, there is no mention anywhere about the weapons that this device is capable of carrying.

As for the American Falcon HTV-2 drone, it was tested several years ago, but 10 minutes into the flight it crashed. However, before it, the X-43A hypersonic aircraft was tested, which was carried out by NASA engineers. During tests, it showed a fantastic speed of 11,200 km/h, which is 9.6 times the speed of sound. The prototype was tested in 2001, but then during the tests it was destroyed due to the fact that it got out of control. But in 2004 the device was successfully tested.

Similar tests by Russia, China and the United States cast doubt on the effectiveness of modern missile defense systems. The introduction of hypersonic technologies in the military-industrial sector is already producing a real revolution in the military world.

Conclusion

Of course, the military-technical development of Russia cannot but rejoice, and the presence of such an aircraft in service with the army is a big step in improving the country’s defense capability, but it is foolish to believe that other world powers are not making attempts to develop similar technologies.

Even today, with free access to information via the Internet, we know very little about promising developments of domestic weapons, and the description of the Yu-71 is known only by rumors. Consequently, we have no way of knowing what technologies are being developed right now in other countries, including China and the United States. The active development of technology in the 21st century makes it possible to quickly invent new types of fuel and apply previously unfamiliar technical and technological techniques, so the development of aircraft, including military ones, is proceeding very quickly.

It is worth noting that the development of technologies that make it possible to achieve aircraft speeds exceeding 10 times the speed of sound will be reflected not only in the military, but also in the civilian sphere. In particular, such well-known aircraft manufacturers as Airbus or Boeing have already announced the possibility of creating hypersonic aircraft for passenger air transportation. Of course, such projects are still only in plans, but the likelihood of developing such aircraft today is quite high.

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As noted earlier, starting from the 70s, the OKB carried out work to create aircraft capable of performing long flights at cruising hypersonic speeds,
By this period, significant results had been achieved in aerospace engineering and technology, flights at supersonic speeds became commonplace for military aircraft, the first supersonic passenger aircraft were put into operation, and manned and unmanned flights into space were carried out. Production aircraft have already appeared that fly in the atmosphere at speeds corresponding to M=3 (MiG-25, SR-71). Space descent vehicles and aerospace aircraft with large Mach numbers flew at very high altitudes, briefly passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.

The general dialectic of the development of aviation technology, as well as the desire of the military-political leadership of countries on both sides of the “Iron Curtain” to get their hands on the next absolute weapon, set the aviation industry of the leading aviation powers with the task of creating aircraft-type aircraft with high hypersonic speeds corresponding to M = 3-10, capable of flying at altitudes of 30-35 km. Such an aircraft in its technical solutions (both in terms of the power plant and in its design) should have been significantly different from modern aircraft and spacecraft. Existing types of jet engines that effectively used the atmosphere during low-altitude flights, due to temperature restrictions, were acceptable only for aircraft with flight speeds corresponding to M = 3. On the other hand, rocket engines for which there were no such restrictions, due to the need to carry a full supply of fuel on board (fuel + oxidizer), were irrational for long flights in the atmosphere.

The most rational for the adopted modes of the future hypersonic aircraft was a ramjet engine (ramjet engine) in combination with an accelerating engine (turbojet engine or liquid propellant engine). In order to achieve high efficiency of the power plant, it was proposed to use liquid hydrogen as a fuel. For flights in the range of numbers M = 3-5, the most acceptable was determined to be a combined power plant containing a turbojet and a ramjet engine running on hydrocarbon fuel or liquefied natural gas (LNG). For flights at speeds exceeding M=5-6, the most suitable was a liquid hydrogen ramjet with booster turbojet engines running on kerosene or liquid hydrogen.

Fundamental changes, taking into account the ability of the aircraft to withstand high and ultra-high temperatures in flight for a long time, were required by the design of such an aircraft. The choice of design had to be determined by the following factors: on the one hand, the intensity of aerodynamic heating and its duration, and on the other hand, the frequency of its use or resource.

The accumulated experience showed that for aircraft subject to intense aerodynamic heating for a long time, the following types of structures seemed promising: “hot”, thermally insulated and actively cooled. “Hot” design is in direct contact with the environment. The thermally insulated structure is protected by a heat-radiating layer or screen. The design with active cooling involved the use of a coolant circulation system that removes heat from the skin. The main problems that needed to be solved were the weakening of thermal stresses, reducing warping and increasing the service life of the structure. One of the areas that made it possible to reduce temperature stress was the use of heat-protective panels (corrugated, tubular, etc.). Thermally insulated structures were proposed to be implemented as a combination of load-bearing structure and thermal protection. An aircraft with moderate resource requirements and a cruising flight number of M=6 could have a “hot” design or a shielded design, or a simplified passive cooling system. For aircraft with a long service life, an active cooling system seemed necessary. The system had to use an intermediate coolant (for example, ethylene glycol), circulating in the casing channels, transferring heat through a heat exchanger to liquid hydrogen, which then had to serve as a coolant for the engine components and enter the combustion chamber. The requirements for the active system could be reduced by the use of heat shields or thermal insulation.

The need to use liquid hydrogen as fuel for a hypersonic aircraft requires the development of a highly efficient tank design and low-temperature thermal insulation (LTI). Despite the fact that since the 60s. Many different designs of cryogenic tanks have been studied both in the USA and in the USSR, and NTI, none of these designs satisfy both the technical and economic requirements for a hypersonic aircraft. Thus, the designs of cryogenic tanks and scientific technical equipment developed for use in rocket technology have a limited resource. The absence of the need for their repeated use did not require detailed studies of the service life of NTI under the long-term influence of thermal cycling, vibration, climatic conditions, and aging of materials from the point of view of degradation of their thermophysical and physicomechanical characteristics over time.

Research on the creation of an aircraft using cryogenic fuel has shown that among many technical problems, one of the most significant is the thermal protection of cryogenic fuel tanks.

The groundwork available at that time in the field of hypersonic aerodynamics was more significant than in the field of structures and power plants of future hypersonic aircraft. Many of the results of analytical and experimental studies conducted on other aviation, missile and aerospace programs (in particular on the MVKA) were largely applicable to hypersonic aircraft. Much remained to be done to determine the optimal aerodynamic design that would provide beneficial interaction between the power plant and the airframe of a hypersonic aircraft. As with conventional aircraft, it was necessary to conduct research on the use of active control systems while reducing static stability margins, which was supposed to reduce the size and weight of the aircraft.

In the USSR, work on hypersonic aircraft in attack versions began in the mid-70s. Several aviation design bureaus of the country and research organizations of the aviation industry were involved in work on this promising topic.

At the Tupolev Design Bureau, work was carried out in the following directions:

• - research and design of a hypersonic long-range strike aircraft designed for cruising flight speed corresponding to M=4 - project “230” (Tu-230). The design began in 1983. The preliminary design was ready in 1985. The take-off weight of the aircraft was determined to be within 180 tons. The power plant was to consist of four combined turbojet engines of the D-80 type. The maximum fuel supply (kerosene) is 106 tons. The cruising altitude is 25,000 - 27,000 m, the maximum flight range was determined to be 8,000 - 10,000 km with a flight duration of 2.3 hours (aircraft length - 54.15 m, wingspan - 26.83 m);
• - research and design of a hypersonic long-range aircraft designed for cruising flight speed corresponding to M=6 - project “260” (Tu-260). It was an aircraft with engines operating in cruising mode on liquid hydrogen with a flight range of up to 12,000 km with a 10-ton payload;
• - research and design of a hypersonic intercontinental aircraft designed for a cruising flight speed corresponding to M=6, with a given maximum flight range of up to 16,000 km and with a payload of up to 20 tons - project “360” (Tu-360). Cruising altitude 30,000 - 33,000 m.

On the topic of “260” and “360”, the OKB prepared several versions of a hypersonic aircraft with a power plant with 4-6 sustainer ramjet engines and six upper turbojet engines with a thrust of 22,000 kgf. The calculated specific fuel consumption of the ramjet in cruising mode was 1.04 kg/kgsch. The selected aerodynamic layout made it possible to obtain calculated quality values ​​of 5.2 - 5.5. It was planned to use kerosene for booster turbojet engines.

As part of the work on hypersonic aircraft, the OKB prepared a proposal for the design of a hypersonic passenger aircraft, designed for cruising flight at a speed corresponding to M = 4.5-5 at altitudes of 28 - 32 km. The flight range was determined to be 8500 - 10000 km. Number of passengers - 250 - 280 people. The power plant is a combined one (turbojet engine + ramjet engine), liquefied natural gas was to be used as fuel.

During research on hypersonic aircraft, the Design Bureau conducted extensive research on materials and structures operating under conditions of intense aerodynamic heating. It was concluded that some of the most promising are structures with metal external surfaces. The development of such structures required solving a number of problems, the main ones being the search for new structural materials with increased oxidation resistance and increased creep strength, as well as the development of qualitatively new types of multilayer metal structures operating under conditions of large temperature gradients. The main types of such structures that were considered by the Design Bureau for hypersonic aircraft were:

• - metal heat shields to reduce heat flows to the main load-bearing structure, not included in the operation of the load-bearing structure and designed for local lateral load;
• - panels that have both the properties of a load-bearing structure and heat-insulating properties.

One of the most effective in terms of load-bearing capacity when working under heating conditions of up to 250 - 500 ° C are multilayer structures made of titanium alloys.

In the course of these studies, technologies were developed for producing multilayer titanium panels with truss filler using the SPF/DS method (superplastic molding and diffusion welding), in which, in one operation, the formation of skins, filler, blank elements from sheet material and joining them together into a finished product was carried out in one operation. monolithic structure.

Research has been carried out on low-temperature thermal protection (LTI) of cryogenic fuel tanks. The most promising thermal protection was considered based on screen-vacuum thermal insulation (EVTI) with a soft hermetic shell, compressed by atmospheric pressure for external NTI, or hydrogen pressure for internal NTI. The design of the tank can be made from aluminum or titanium alloys, or from composite materials. The OKB produced model tanks, both with NTI based on foam plastics, and with EVTI compressed by atmospheric pressure. Life tests of these tanks were carried out using liquid nitrogen.

Much attention was paid to the design of cryogenic fuel tanks with a long service life. During their development, special strength standards were created to ensure the necessary tightness during operation.

All these and other works of the OKB were of great importance for solving the problems of creating hypersonic aircraft, which the OKB was working on in those years, as well as in the work on creating cryogenic aircraft, in particular, the experimental Tu-155, projects of cryogenic passenger aircraft Tu-204K, Tu-334K and others, which the Design Bureau continues to work on at the present time.

Today, the Tupolev Design Bureau is the owner of unique technologies for cryogenic aviation technology, many of which were mastered during the period of work on aerospace and hypersonic aircraft.

Hypersonic aircraft, which will reach technical maturity in the near future, may radically change the entire field of missile weapons. And Russia will have to join this race, otherwise there will be a risk of losing too much. After all, we are talking about nothing less than a scientific and technological revolution.

It is too early to talk about an arms race in this area - today it is a technology race. Hypersonic projects have not yet gone beyond the scope of R&D: for now, mostly demonstrators are sent into flight. Their levels of technological readiness on the DARPA scale are mainly in the fourth to sixth positions (on a ten-point scale).

However, there is no need to talk about hypersound as some kind of technical novelty. ICBM warheads enter the atmosphere at hypersound, descent vehicles with astronauts, and space shuttles are also hypersonic. But flying at hypersonic speeds when deorbiting is a necessary necessity, and it does not last long. We will talk about aircraft for which hypersound is the normal mode of operation, and without it they will not be able to demonstrate their superiority and show their capabilities and power.

Swift reconnaissance aircraft: SR-72 is a promising American aircraft that can become a functional analogue of the legendary SR-71 - a supersonic and super-maneuverable reconnaissance aircraft. The main difference from its predecessor is the absence of a pilot in the cockpit and hypersonic speed.

Impact from orbit

We will talk about hypersonic maneuvering controlled objects - maneuvering warheads of ICBMs, hypersonic cruise missiles, hypersonic UAVs. What exactly do we mean by hypersonic aircraft? First of all, we mean the following characteristics: flight speed - 5-10 M (6150-12,300 km/h) and above, covered operating altitude range - 25-140 km. One of the most attractive qualities of hypersonic vehicles is the impossibility of reliable tracking by air defense systems, since the object flies in a plasma cloud, opaque to radar.

It is also worth noting the high maneuverability and minimal reaction time to defeat. For example, a hypersonic vehicle requires only an hour after leaving the waiting orbit to hit the selected target.

Projects for hypersonic vehicles have been developed more than once and continue to be developed in our country. You can recall the Tu-130 (6 M), the Ajax aircraft (8-10 M), the projects of high-speed hypersonic aircraft from the Design Bureau named after. Mikoyan on hydrocarbon fuel in various applications and a hypersonic aircraft (6 M) on two types of fuel - hydrogen for high flight speeds and kerosene for lower ones.

The Boeing X-51A Waverider hypersonic missile being developed in the United States

The OKB project left its mark in the history of engineering. Mikoyan “Spiral”, in which the return aerospace hypersonic aircraft was launched into artificial satellite orbit by a hypersonic booster aircraft, and after completing combat missions in orbit, returned to the atmosphere, performing maneuvers in it also at hypersonic speeds. Developments from the Spiral project were used in the BOR and Buran space shuttle projects. There is officially unconfirmed information about the Aurora hypersonic aircraft created in the United States. Everyone has heard about him, but no one has ever seen him.

"Zircon" for the fleet

On March 17, 2016, it became known that Russia had officially begun testing a hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile (ASC). The fifth-generation nuclear submarines (“Husky”) will also be armed with the newest projectile; surface ships and, of course, the flagship of the Russian fleet will also receive it. A speed of 5-6 M and a range of at least 400 km (the missile will cover this distance in four minutes) will significantly complicate the use of countermeasures. It is known that the rocket will use the new Decilin-M fuel, which increases the flight range by 300 km.

The developer of the Zircon anti-ship missile system is NPO Mashinostroeniya, part of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation. The appearance of a serial rocket can be expected by 2020. It is worth considering that Russia has extensive experience in creating high-speed anti-ship cruise missiles, such as the serial P-700 Granit anti-ship missile (2.5 M), the serial P-270 Moskit anti-ship missile (2.8 M), which will be replaced by the new Zircon anti-ship missile system.

Winged Strike: An unmanned hypersonic glide aircraft, developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the late 1950s, was intended to represent the final stage of a missile strike system.

Cunning Warhead

The first information about the launch of the Yu-71 product (as it is designated in the West) into low-Earth orbit by the RS-18 Stiletto rocket and its return to the atmosphere appeared in February 2015. The launch was made from the position area of ​​the Dombrovsky formation by the 13th missile division of the Strategic Missile Forces (Orenburg region). It is also reported that by 2025 the division will receive 24 Yu-71 products to equip new ones. The Yu-71 product was also created by NPO Mashinostroeniya as part of Project 4202 since 2009.

The product is a super-maneuverable missile warhead that performs a gliding flight at a speed of 11,000 km/h. It can go into near space and hit targets from there, as well as carry a nuclear charge and be equipped with an electronic warfare system. At the moment of “diving” into the atmosphere, the speed can be 5,000 m/s (18,000 km/h) and for this reason the Yu-71 is protected from overheating and overloads, and can easily change the direction of flight without being destroyed.

Airframe element of a hypersonic weapon, which remained a project. The length of the aircraft was supposed to be 8 m, the wingspan was 2.8 m.

The Yu-71 product, having high maneuverability at hypersonic speed in altitude and heading and flying not along a ballistic trajectory, becomes unattainable for any air defense system. In addition, the warhead is controllable, due to which it has a very high accuracy of destruction: this will also allow it to be used in a non-nuclear high-precision version. It is known that during 2011–2015 several launches were made. The Yu-71 product is believed to be put into service in 2025, and will be equipped with it.

Rise high

Among the projects of the past, one can note the X-90 rocket, which was developed by the Raduga IKB. The project dates back to 1971; it was closed in 1992, a difficult year for the country, although the tests carried out showed good results. The rocket was repeatedly demonstrated at the MAKS aerospace show. A few years later, the project was revived: the rocket received a speed of 4-5 M and a range of 3500 km when launched from a Tu-160 carrier. The demonstration flight took place in 2004. It was supposed to arm the missile with two detachable warheads placed on the sides of the fuselage, but the projectile never entered service.

The RVV-BD hypersonic missile was developed by the Vympel Design Bureau named after I.I. Toropova. It continues the line of K-37, K-37M missiles in service with and. The hypersonic interceptors of the PAK DP project will also be armed with the RVV-BD missile. According to the statement of the head of KTRV, Boris Viktorovich Obnosov, made at MAKS 2015, the rocket began to be mass-produced and its first batches will roll off the assembly line in 2016. The missile weighs 510 kg, has a high-explosive fragmentation warhead and will hit targets at ranges of 200 km in a wide range of altitudes. A dual-mode solid propellant rocket engine allows it to reach a hypersonic speed of 6 Mach.

SR-71: Today, long retired, this aircraft occupies a prominent place in aviation history. It is being replaced by hypersound.

Hypersound of the Celestial Empire

In the fall of 2015, the Pentagon reported, and this was confirmed by Beijing, that China had successfully tested the DF-ZF Yu-14 (WU-14) hypersonic maneuvering aircraft, which was launched from the Wuzhai test site. The Yu-14 separated from the carrier “at the edge of the atmosphere” and then glided towards a target located several thousand kilometers in western China. The flight of the DF-ZF was monitored by American intelligence services, and according to their data, the device maneuvered at a speed of 5 Mach, although its speed could potentially reach 10 Mach.

China said it has solved the problem of hypersonic jet propulsion for such vehicles and created new lightweight composite materials to protect against kinetic heating. Chinese representatives also reported that the Yu-14 is capable of breaking through the US air defense system and delivering a global nuclear strike.

America Projects

Currently, various hypersonic aircraft are “in operation” in the United States, which are undergoing flight tests with varying degrees of success. Work on them began in the early 2000s, and today they are at different levels of technological readiness. Recently, the developer of the X-51A hypersonic vehicle, Boeing, announced that the X-51A will be put into service in 2017.

Among the ongoing projects in the United States are: the AHW (Advanced Hypersonic Weapon) hypersonic maneuvering warhead project, the Falcon HTV-2 (Hyper-Sonic Technology Vehicle) hypersonic aircraft launched using ICBMs, the X-43 Hyper-X hypersonic aircraft, a prototype hypersonic cruise missile Boeing's X-51A Waverider, equipped with a hypersonic ramjet with supersonic combustion. It is also known that in the United States work is underway on the SR-72 hypersonic UAV from Lockheed Martin, which only officially announced its work on this product in March 2016.

Space “spiral”: a hypersonic booster aircraft developed under the “Spiral” project. The system was also expected to include a military orbital aircraft with a rocket booster.

The first mention of the SR-72 drone dates back to 2013, when Lockheed Martin announced that it would develop the SR-72 hypersonic UAV to replace the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft. It will fly at a speed of 6400 km/h at operating altitudes of 50-80 km up to suborbital, will have a two-circuit propulsion system with a common air intake and a nozzle apparatus based on a turbojet engine for acceleration from a speed of 3 M and a hypersonic ramjet with supersonic combustion for flight at speeds of more than 3 M. SR-72 will perform reconnaissance missions, as well as strike with high-precision air-to-surface weapons in the form of light missiles without an engine - they will not need one, since a good hypersonic launch speed is already available.

Among the problematic issues of SR-72, experts include the choice of materials and casing design that can withstand large thermal loads from kinetic heating at temperatures of 2000 °C and above. It will also be necessary to solve the problem of separating weapons from the internal compartments at a hypersonic flight speed of 5-6 M and eliminate cases of loss of communication, which were repeatedly observed during tests of the HTV-2 object. Lockheed Martin Corporation has stated that the size of the SR-72 will be comparable to the size of the SR-71 - in particular, the length of the SR-72 will be 30 m. The SR-72 is expected to enter service in 2030.