Now Reading: DARPA seeks hypersonic cruise missile with longer range, survivability
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DARPA seeks hypersonic cruise missile with longer range, survivability
DARPA seeks hypersonic cruise missile with longer range, survivability
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking to develop a new hypersonic scramjet cruise missile, the Next Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile (NGHCM), designed to penetrate increasingly sophisticated enemy air-defence…
The Story in Brief
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking to develop a new hypersonic scramjet cruise missile, the Next Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile (NGHCM), designed to penetrate increasingly sophisticated enemy air-defence systems. DARPA warned that the rapid spread of Integrated Air Defense Systems among peer adversaries could reduce the effectiveness of existing stand-off strike capabilities, prompting the push for a more survivable weapon.
According to timesnownews.com, DARPA wants the missile to combine greater range, speed, and altitude with manoeuvrability and a low signature, while remaining affordable for large-scale production. The RFI asks industry to consider testing distances from 250 to 2,000 nautical miles and potential launch platforms including tactical fighters, bombers, and ground-based vertical launch systems. DARPA is also seeking an accelerated development path towards first flight.
The Indian Opinion
The hype around 'hypersonic weapons' often ignores basic trade-offs. Simply making a missile faster does not guarantee it will survive modern air-defence systems, as DARPA itself acknowledges. The real news here is the shift towards balancing speed with stealth, range, and affordability, factors that have been sidelined in earlier programmes. The number to watch is the cost per unit: if DARPA cannot keep production affordable, this will remain a boutique capability, not a game-changer.
Source: timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
