China is reducing the cost of hypersonic missiles
Chinese developers led by Professor Huang Fenglei of the Beijing Institute of Technology presented a design for a hypersonic anti-ship missile whose nose cone is made of high-strength stainless steel. Engineers say the missile could easily reach Mach 8. The missile would leave the atmosphere after launch and then descend to an altitude of 19-29 km before descending to its target for destruction. They estimate that the temperature inside the warhead could reach 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit in 18 seconds, enough to ignite the missile's explosives. One of the main problems with steel in hypersonic missiles is its melting point of 1200°C. This temperature is lower than the 2500 °C that a hypersonic missile can reach in flight due to high speed and atmospheric conditions. This number was achieved in tests conducted at Mach 5, so the temperature is expected to be significantly higher than Mach 8 as mentioned above. Despite high demand, countries around the world have failed to replace tungsten with steel in hypersonic weapons. Tungsten alloys are used because they have a melting point of over 1600°C. However, tungsten is a rare metal and most of its production is controlled by Chinese companies. Replacing tungsten with steel requires a modern thermal protective coating, which Chinese engineers claim to have achieved. The steel front cone will be equipped with an additional layer of thermal barrier to help it retain its shape from impact. Chinese engineers propose using ultra-high-temperature ceramics as the top layer of the barrier, while the bottom layer of airgel will act as thermal insulation to maintain a stable temperature of the explosive. Hypersonic weapons are a hot topic at the moment, and several countries are trying to develop low-cost versions. Replacing tungsten with steel would allow for mass-produced, low-cost projectiles. China already has several hypersonic missiles in its arsenal, along with Russia, which also used them during the SBO. The United States is also working on the development of a hypersonic missile, but their projects did not bring the expected results. France achieved some success in developing a hypersonic aircraft when it successfully tested the V-max in 2023.
Last month, researchers at China's College of Aerospace Science and Engineering at the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha said they had developed a new cooling device for hypersonic weapons that they said could extend flight time by nearly two and a half hours and replenish steel. nose. cone technology.