The Lockheed Martin BGM-178 RATTLRS (Revolutionary Approach To Time-critical Long Range Strike) was an advanced cruise missile concept demonstration funded by the US Navy with the view to develop technologies that would then be used to develop a successor to the BGM-109 Tomahawk. The five year contract was awarded on 1 March 2004. [1] It is a possible solution to hypersonic cruise missile systems for the United States.
Lockheed’s Skunk Works was the prime contractor, while Rolls-Royce Liberty Works was designing the YJ102R high-Mach turbine engine. The missile's airframe bears resemblance to the BrahMos missile, and is similar in size and shape to the engine nacelle of the SR-71, or to the D-21 drone. [2] The missile's airframe design would enable it to cruise at very high speeds to strike a target over 1,000 kilometers in less than 30 minutes. The missile would be ideal for engaging on-the-move or about to move targets, and could possibly be a suitable anti-ship missile, utilizing its tremendous speed to evade enemy CIWS defenses.
In comparison to the Russian-Indian BrahMos, the RATTLRS is slightly slower, but has double, if not triple the range, and has a larger variety of launch platforms, since it has the capability to launch from the Mk. 41 VLS system, as well as a multitude of American aircraft. [3]
Name: RATTLRS (Revolutionary Approach to Time Critical Long Range Strike)
Type: Long-range hypersonic cruise missile test vehicle
Developed: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon
Length: 21 ft
Diameter: 520 mm
Engine: Rolls-Royce YJ102R turbojet
Warhead: 500 lbs penetrating HE or submunition dispensing warhead
Cruise speed: Mach 3+
Range: 500+ nm (1,000+ km)
Platforms: air-launched or even surface launched [4]
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets, that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at an approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high precision. Modern cruise missiles are capable of traveling at high subsonic, supersonic, or hypersonic speeds, are self-navigating, and are able to fly on a non-ballistic, extremely low-altitude trajectory.
A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 and can operate up to Mach 6.
A ballistic missile (BM) is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Ballistic missiles differs in range; short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) stay within the Earth's atmosphere, while intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) are launched on a sub-orbital flight. They are internally guided, those for short range are typically inertial-guided while those for long range typically have more sophisticated guidance.
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds five times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above.
A submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a submarine. Current versions are typically standoff weapons known as land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), which are used to attack predetermined land targets with conventional or nuclear payloads. Anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) are also used, and some submarine-launched cruise missiles have variants for both functions.
The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be Launched from Submarines, Ships, Fighter Aircraft or TEL. It is a joint-venture between the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is based on P-800 Oniks. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
The Novator Kalibr, also referred to as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza, is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by NPO Novator (OKB-8). It first saw service in 1994. There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack use. Some versions have a second propulsion stage that initiates a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that air defense systems have to react, while subsonic versions have greater range than the supersonic variants. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of explosive or a thermonuclear warhead.
Nirbhay is a long range, all-weather, subsonic Cruise Missile designed and developed in India by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) which is under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile can be Launched from Multiple Platforms and is capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads. It is currently deployed in limited numbers in Line of Actual Control (LAC) during standoff with China.
Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about 90 km at speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Speeds over Mach 25 have been achieved below the thermosphere as of 2020.
Shaurya is a canister-launched hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile developed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for use by the Indian Armed Forces. It has a range of 700 to 1,900 km and is capable of carrying a payload of 200 to 1,000 kg conventional or nuclear warhead. It provides the potential to strike at very-long-range against any adversary.
The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic flight. It is being developed as a carrier vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles, and will have multiple civilian applications including the launching of small satellites at low cost. The HSTDV program is being run by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The BrahMos Aerospace is an Indo-Russian multinational aerospace and defense corporation, with core manufacturing concentrations in Cruise missiles. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, it was founded as a joint venture between the India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia. Company's name is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
BrahMos-II or BrahMos-2 or BrahMos Mark II is a hypersonic cruise missile currently under joint development by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia, which have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. It is the second of the BrahMos series of cruise missiles. The BrahMos-II is expected to have a range of 1,500 kilometres and a speed of Mach 8. During the cruise stage of flight the missile will be propelled by a scramjet airbreathing jet engine. Other details, including production cost and physical dimensions of the missile, are yet to be published.
The Lockheed Martin SR-72, colloquially referred to as "Son of Blackbird", is an American hypersonic UAV concept intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) proposed privately in 2013 by Lockheed Martin as a successor to the retired Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. In 2018, company executives said an SR-72 test vehicle could fly by 2025 and enter service in the 2030s.
The Chaoxun-1 (CX-1) is a Chinese-built supersonic anti-ship missile and cruise missile. The missile was first displayed at the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, held November 2014 in Zhuhai, China.
The 3M22Tsirkon also spelled as 3M22 Zircon is a scramjet-powered, thermonuclear-capable hypersonic cruise missile produced by Russia for the Russian Navy, with launch platforms on frigates and submarines. The missile has a reported top speed of Mach 9. The weapon was first used during Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Avangard is a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) that can be carried as an MIRV payload by the UR-100UTTKh, R-36M2 and RS-28 Sarmat heavy ICBMs. It can deliver both nuclear and conventional payloads. The Avangard is reportedly capable of travelling at re-entry speeds.
A hypersonic weapon is a weapon capable of travelling at hypersonic speed, defined as between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound or about 1 to 5 miles per second.
SCIFIRE or the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment is an American-Australian military technology partnership that is developing a solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile that can be launched by existing fighter or bomber aircraft.