The development of a hypersonic guided missile that targets land and sea target has begun. Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) named this missile as a "game changer."
This missile will use a Dual-Mode Scramjet engine (DMSJ), a combination of ramjet and scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) engines, and thus should be able to fly at a wide range of speeds, including hypersonic speeds of Mach 5 or higher.
Development work of this new missile began in 2019 and is set to be completed in the 2030s. ATLA is currently in the development phase of the scramjet engine along with local company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which won a contract for the prototype engine research.
ALTA, the developer of this missile, named it as "game changer" because this hypersonic guided missile can cruise at high altitudes at hypersonic speeds while manoeuvring, making it difficult to intercept it by the enemy air defences. This manoeuvrability is enabled by the missile's ability to fly at an altitude higher than that of a typical lower level air defence system and lower than that of an upper level air defence system, and further altering the flight route makes it difficult to predict the point of intercept, making it difficult for existing air defence systems to respond it.
According to documents released by ATLA, the combined guidance system of satellite and inertial navigation will be used to guide the hypersonic guided missile. In addition, radio and lightwave image seekers will be used to identify targets, and this missile will be capable of all-weather operations. The missile is expected to be capable of carrying a penetrating warhead to destroy the flight decks of enemy aircraft carriers and a high-density Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) warhead to suppress enemies on the ground.
Source - Naval News
