by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] London's The Telegraph informed readers that a missile defense network would be created in Europe capable of intercepting " Putin's hypersonic missiles." This British newspaper said the head of the defense concern MBDA Eric Beranger. He claims that the firm has already begun developing such missile defense systems.
MBDA, formed on the basis of British, French and Italian aircraft and missile companies, is considered one of the leading manufacturers of missile systems in the EU and the United Kingdom. To develop anti-hypersonic missile defense systems, the concern additionally connected military-industrial complex companies from France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, Beranger said.
The result of the development is that the new missile defense system is to be deployed throughout Europe and will be able to "shoot down missiles that move at a speed of 6900 miles per hour," The Telegraph emphasizes. It was announced that the first developments under the new program will be presented in the next two to three years.
In reality, the introduction of new developments should take a much longer time, the military expert and author of the Russian Engineer Telegram channel Alexey Vasilyev is sure . “There is a difference between the development of the first types of weapons and their mass production. That is, until they are produced, until they begin to be massively supplied to the troops, in any case, at least five to seven years must pass , ”explained the expert IA Regnum .
THE MAIN THING IS MANEUVERS
The main question is not the timing of the development of new missile defense systems, but what kind of hypersonic weapons they should counter, the expert explained.
“Hypothetically, it is quite possible to produce such systems. In practice, as usual, everything is somewhat more complicated, ” Vasilyev notes.
By itself, the interception by missile defense systems of missiles operating at hypersonic speeds (including those at the indicated 6,900 miles per hour or 11,100 km/h) is technically feasible. “But the question is not to shoot down missiles that fly at hypersonic speeds. Here we are talking about missiles that maneuver at such a speed, ” the expert emphasized.
When a target simply flies at hyperspeed, everything is quite simple: a lead point is selected, calculated, and a missile defense system is sent to this point, which can fly even without guidance, Vasiliev explained. But if a hypersonic missile maneuvers, then it is much more difficult to bring it down.
“It will be necessary to correct the movement of anti-missiles. At the same time, an important point is that a rocket, when it flies at hypersonic speeds, is surrounded by a cloud of heated air, plasma forms at such a speed ,” the expert pointed out. “ Neither infrared rays, nor radar channels, nor optical ones pass through the plasma. Therefore, there are difficulties with detection.
"DAGGER", "ZIRCON" OR "VANGUARD"
So, in order to develop such a missile defense system, you must first solve all these difficulties. But, Vasiliev notes, in principle, this is not impossible.
The British-French concern MBDA is one of the few arms manufacturers that is really capable of creating and releasing such missile defense systems, the source explained. It is this company that produces Storm Shadow missiles , which have become a serious test for Russian air defense systems in the NVO zone. Technical capabilities allow the European firm to find a way to counter the Russian "hypersound", the military expert believes.
The question is what kind of our weapons the Europeans are trying to counter. “If the anti-missiles are designed to intercept the Kinzhal or Zircon complexes, this is one story, and the Avangard is another matter,” says Vasiliev. - Avangard flies at speeds close to the first space one. There, acceleration is much greater - to enter the earth's orbit. Accordingly, the time of missile detection, reaction time and decision-making is reduced.”
Therefore, the speed of the anti-missile should be correspondingly higher. “And it’s still not very clear what kind of threats they want to counter,” Vasiliev added.
THE AMERICANS RELIED ON "KINETIC INTERCEPTION"
The Europeans, we note, are not the first to attend to the creation of new missile defense systems to combat the "Russian hypersonic threat." The American agency DARPA, which is responsible for advanced defense research at the Pentagon, presented the concept of a hypersonic missile interceptor back in 2018.
The concept developed by DARPA was called the Glide Breaker. We are talking about the creation of a small aircraft that should disable hypersonic missiles using "kinetic interception" (in other words, a direct collision of the vehicle with a hypersonic missile), The Drive portal noted . The layout of the device does not provide for a separate warhead, as in the design of anti-missiles. No additional data was provided to DARPA.
But the fact is obvious: the United States and European countries are looking for an answer to the development of hypersonic weapons by Russia, in which it is clearly ahead of the West so far.
The Russian air defense system for the first time hit the aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without the participation of the operator
There are other - in addition to those that have become known - the concept of countering hypersonic missiles, but the details are kept secret by the Americans and their allies. The implementation of "anti-hypersound" in life is complicated by a number of factors.
PROBLEMS WITH STRATEGY
“Western countries can run into weaknesses in their own defense strategy,” Vasilyev notes. He recalled that Western air defense and missile defense systems are based primarily on the use of air-launched missiles. “That is, military aircraft perform air defense functions, and ground-based anti-aircraft missile systems exist to cover objects,” the military expert explained.
This approach differs from ours - in Russia, ground-based air defense systems are more common and cover much larger areas.
“They have the basis of air defense - air superiority. To create a missile defense system, you need to reconsider their entire concept of warfare, Vasilyev points out. “ And since the development, production and introduction of new missile defense systems into the troops will take time, the West will strategically approach the solution of the problem differently.”
Most likely, emphasis will be placed on knocking out carriers of hypersonic weapons from us. That is, to prevent the launch of missiles, and not to intercept already fired missiles . “The bet will be placed on this. But in parallel, the development of anti-missile defense systems will also go on, therefore, in any case, this fact should not be ignored , ”adds the expert.
RACE OF MEANS OF DEFENSE AND ATTACK
On the other hand, Vasiliev notes, Russian developers see attempts by the West to develop new missile defense systems and, accordingly, will increase the capabilities of hypersonic weapons.
Moreover, it is precisely the presence of such missiles today that allows Russia, if necessary, to launch a preventive strike against NATO forces and disable the enemy's nuclear arsenal.
“There is nothing surprising in the fact that the West is developing missile defense systems, no.
There is a usual fight between "sword" and "shield". They are developing means of protection, we will modernize our missile weapons, ” the expert sums up.
The refinement of existing funds may begin, in order to master their management in a plasma cloud, Vasiliev predicts. “It will be difficult, it will require the introduction of various technical solutions and “crutches”, but this is possible ,” the expert believes. We need to use more maneuver, use quantitatively more complexes, work on unpredictable trajectories of a possible missile attack, in a word, make it as difficult as possible to intercept our hypersonic weapons, the interlocutor listed.
“We have room to develop, so there will certainly be opportunities to counter Western missile defense systems when they begin to take over on duty,” predicts Vasiliev.
