News that China tested a new hypersonic missile was denied by Chinese foreign ministry. But threat remains.
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- The story: China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle that circled the globe before speeding towards its target. Others like the US and Russia too are developing hypersonic missiles which travel at a speed five times that of sound. Though slower than ballistic missiles, they are harder to intercept, and can be manoeuvred.
- Financial Times report: As per the FT report, China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August 2021, demonstrating an advanced space capability. The launch was kept a secret by China. The missile circled the world before cruising towards its target. However, it missed its mark by about 24 miles. Chinese military launched the rocket carrying hypersonic glide vehicle that flew through low-orbit space. It's clear China has made impressive progress on hypersonic weapons. FT claimed China usually announces the launch of its Long March rockets, but concealed the August 2021 launch.
- Hypersonic technology: Hypersonic speeds are 5 or more times the Mach or speed of sound. The Mach Number describes an aircraft’s speed compared with the speed of sound in air, with Mach 1 equating to the speed of sound i.e. 343 metre per second. There are two types -
- Hypersonic cruise missiles - These are the ones that use rocket or jet propellant through their flight and are regarded as being just faster versions of existing cruise missiles.
- Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) - These first go up into the atmosphere on a conventional rocket before being launched towards their target.
- Technology - Most hypersonic vehicles primarily use the scramjet technology, which is a type of Air Breathing propulsion System. This is a complex technology, which also needs to be able to handle high temperatures, making the hypersonic systems extremely costly.
- The trajectory of Hypersonic Missiles is not traceable, while trajectory of the Ballistic missiles is traceable.
- Implications for India: Hypersonic technology developments, in the backdrop of growing US-China rivalry and a year-long standoff with Indian forces in eastern Ladakh, is a threat for India's space assets along with the surface assets. The offence system operating at these speeds would mean a requirement to develop defence systems at these speeds.
- Development in India - India is working on hypersonic technologies, and has already proved its capabilities through the test of ASAT under Mission Shakti. Hypersonic technology has been developed and tested by both DRDO and ISRO. DRDO successfully flight-tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), with a capability to travel at 6 times the speed of sound.
- A Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility of the DRDO was inaugurated in Hyderabad. It is a pressure vacuum-driven, enclosed free jet facility that simulates Mach 5 to 12.
- Air Breathing Propulsion System: These systems use atmospheric oxygen, which is available up to about 50 km of earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored on-board thereby making the system much lighter, more efficient and cost effective. Examples of Air Breathing Propulsion System include the Ramjet, Scramjet, Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ).
- A ramjet is a form of air breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle's forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without an axial compressor. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed; they cannot move an aircraft from a standstill. A ramjet-powered vehicle, therefore, requires an assisted take-off, like a rocket assist, to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust. The ramjet works best at supersonic speeds and as the speed enters the hypersonic range, its efficiency starts to drop.
- A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion, which gives it its name — supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet. The scramjet is composed of three basic components: (i) a converging inlet where incoming air is compressed, (ii) a combustor where gaseous fuel is burned with atmospheric oxygen to produce heat, and (iii) a diverging nozzle where the heated air is accelerated to produce thrust. The exhaust gases are accelerated to hypersonic speeds using a divergent nozzle. The speed at which the vehicle moves through the atmosphere causes the air to compress within the inlet. As such, no moving parts are needed in a scramjet, which reduces the weight and the number of failure points in the engine.
- The third concept is a mix of ramjet and scramjet, which is called DMRJ (Dual Mode Ramjet). There is a need for an engine which can operate at both supersonic and hypersonic speeds. A DMRJ is an engine design where a ramjet transforms into a scramjet over Mach 4-8 range, which means, it can operate in both the subsonic and supersonic combustor mode.
- Chinese denial: China denied reports that it tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile earlier this year, insisting instead that it was a routine spacecraft check. The initial report in the Financial Times newspaper prompted concern in Washington, where US intelligence was reportedly caught by surprise. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that a routine test had been carried out in July to verify different types of reusable spacecraft technology. "This was not a missile, this was a spacecraft," he said.
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the types of engines used in various high-speed missile systems. (2) China denied it tested any hypersonic missile, in 2021. What is the implication of this statements? (3) Explain the preparation of India, as far as offensive Chinese abilities are concerned.
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