Can You Stop a Hypersonic Missile?
3 hours ago
- #hypersonic-weapons
- #military-technology
- #missile-defense
- Headlines about intercepting hypersonic missiles often misinterpret the reality, as many reported 'hypersonic' interceptions involve different weapon classes (like aeroballistic missiles or quasi-ballistic missiles) rather than true maneuvering boost-glide hypersonic vehicles.
- True hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs), such as Russia's Avangard, China's DF-17, and the U.S. Dark Eagle, sustain hypersonic speeds for long distances, maneuver in flight, and fly at low altitudes (20-60 km), making them hard to detect with ground radar due to Earth's curvature.
- Defense against HGVs is challenged by limited warning time (e.g., about 260 seconds at 30 km altitude) and a complex kill chain that requires detection, tracking, discrimination, and intercept steps, taking around 150 seconds before an interceptor engages.
- Current defense systems, like Patriot, SM-6, Arrow-3, and THAAD, have succeeded against non-HGV hypersonic weapons (e.g., Kinzhal), but no dedicated interceptor for glide-phase HGVs exists yet; the Glide Phase Interceptor is planned for 2029.
- The economic and logistical strain of missile defense is significant, with interceptors costing millions each and magazines depleting quickly in conflicts, as seen in the 2025 Israel-Iran war where a quarter of U.S. THAAD inventory was used in 12 days.
- Future defenses rely on space-based sensors (like HBTSS), faster interceptors, and layered systems including directed energy, but current capabilities are incomplete, and no live test against a true HGV has occurred as of mid-2026.