Zircon, die Gesetze der Physik und "Kreuzfahrtraketen"

[Ekki]

Gerade im Netz gefunden. Es beschreibt das Problem der Hyperschallwaffen genau: Sie können bewegliche Ziele nicht wirksam bekämpfen. Schießt der Russe im Atlantik den Zirkon, dann kratzen sich die Admirale in Norfolk/Virginia gelangweilt am Sack.

Die deutsche Übersetzung konnte ich übrigens nicht hier reinstellen, als ich sah, dass dort "Cruise Missiles" zu "Kreuzfahrtraketen" umgedeutet wurden.

Putin's 'invincible' missile has a very common problem
Michael Peck Feb 21, 2023, 11:47 PM
In this image taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, May 28, 2022, a new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is launched by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Russian navy from the Barents Sea.
Russian navy frigate Admiral Gorshkov launches a Zircon hypersonic missile in the Barents Sea in May 2022. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
Putin has touted Russian hypersonic weapons like the Zircon missile as impossible to defend against.
Zircon in particular is powerful but there are limits on what it can do, a Western expert says.
Like other high-speed weapons, the Zircon's velocity may come at the expense of its accuracy.
Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday.

Russia's Zircon hypersonic missile can do two things: fly at almost 7,000 mph, which makes it very hard to shoot down, or hit a moving ship. But it can't do both.

That's the conclusion of a British expert who says that the Zircon is a powerful weapon with major limitations.

"The operational deployment of the Zircon is an important development, but one whose significance should not be exaggerated," according to Sidharth Kaushal, a naval warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense think tank.

President Vladimir Putin has touted Russia's hypersonic weapons as being "invincible." Russian officials claim the 3M22 Zircon can travel at Mach 9, or about 6,900 mph, which may be too fast for current tactical anti-missile defenses.

But Putin's rhetoric can't change the laws of physics. The problem is that objects traveling at hypersonic speeds — Mach 5 and beyond — ionize the air around them, creating a sheath of plasma around the object that blocks radar signals.

Yet radar is precisely how many guided missiles home in on their targets. Once the missile arrives near a designated point, an active radar seeker in the nose switches on, scans the area, and locks on target. Similar problems affect other high-speed missiles, like China's anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Putin Missile
President Vladimir Putin watches a missile launch from a warship during exercises in the Russian Arctic in August 2005. REUTERS/ITAR-TASS/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
"Because the missile's plasma layer precludes the use of active radar and other onboard sensors to track a target vessel in the terminal phase, the missile likely has to slow down to well short of hypersonic speeds in order to track mobile targets," Kaushal wrote.

Against targets that are fixed, like buildings on land, it's not necessary to slow down. But when hunting ships, the Zircon would probably have to slow down to supersonic speed to use its radar. If that's the case, then as it nears the target, the Zircon would not be moving any faster than earlier Russian anti-ship missiles such as the P-800 Oniks, which has a speed of about Mach 2.5, or 1,900 mph.

Supersonic missiles can be intercepted by shipboard defenses such as the US Navy's SeaRAM gun/missile system.

In addition, when the Zircon is launched, a rocket boosts it to high altitude and supersonic speed, which is necessary for the Zircon's scramjet engine to kick in and reach hypersonic velocity. The disadvantage is that unlike supersonic anti-ship missiles that can skim just above the water to avoid radar detection, the Zircon will have to stay at an altitude of about 12 miles until it gets relatively close to the target. Flying higher for longer makes it more visible to radar.

"The missile can either be hypersonic or low observable but not both in tandem," wrote Kaushal.

The Zircon should not be underestimated. A destroyer, for example, might not detect a missile until it gets to within about 15 miles, according to Kaushal. "From this point, assuming the missile is a Zircon flying at speeds of Mach 5–6, the vessel would have 15 seconds to react."

Yet Kaushal is skeptical about Russian claims that the Zircon is really operational.

Russia navy frigate Zircon hypersonic missile SS-N-33
Russian frigate Admiral Groshkov launches a Zircon hypersonic missile in the White Sea in October 2020. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
The weapon was developed remarkably quickly compared to previous Russian missiles. "Furthermore, there appear to be no reported test failures, which is irregular for a new missile, especially one as complex as a hypersonic cruise missile," Kaushal noted.

The Zircon has a reported range of about 621 miles, but this is contingent on the missile being accurately guided toward the target zone: Its on-board radar can only scan a limited area, and even an aircraft carrier is a small object to spot in a big ocean. Russia also has limited maritime surveillance and detection capabilities beyond its coastal waters.

"While not much is known about the navigation system of the Zircon, the risk of plasma blackout would seem to necessitate very precise inertial guidance" as guidance from GPS or from its Russian counterpart, GLONASS, "cannot be reliably assumed," Kaushal told Insider.

Nonetheless, the Zircon may end up giving many Russian warships a hypersonic attack capability. The weapon is about 26 feet to 32 feet long, meaning it is small enough to be fitted onto smaller warships such as Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates and submarines like the Yasen-class boats that worry NATO commanders.

"It is pretty big even by cruise-missile standards," Kaushal told Insider. "That said, most vessels in the Russian fleet are being equipped to carry cruise missiles, so that is definitely a design principle for even the smaller elements of the fleet."

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

[Ekki]

Noch was zu dem Thema - den Krieg kann er so nicht gewinnen...


https://www.msn.com/de-de/nachrichten/welt/so-will-putin-russland-aufr%C3%BCsten/ar-AA17QqUi?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=7705030e840148a48c16168838be5c9b&ei=115

[maxim]

Das ist interessant.

Welche Art von Suchköpfen wird durch die Ionisierung der Luft blockiert?

Der Artikel scheint von aktiven Radar auszugehen. Neben passiven Radarsuchköpfen (funktionieren dann wahrscheinlich auch nicht?) gibt es ja noch z.B. Infrarotsuchköpfe.

Über die chinesischen ballistischen Anti-Schiffsraketen des Typs DF-21 gibt es hierzu diese Aussage:

The DF-21D may also not be as fast as theorized. While ballistic missiles reenter the atmosphere at speeds between Mach 8-15 at an altitude of 50 km (160,000 ft), increasing air resistance in the denser low-atmosphere region reduces terminal speed to around Mach 2 at 3–5 km (9,800–16,400 ft). It cannot acquire its target until this point due to ionization blockage, leaving a relatively short time to actually search for a ship. This could enable the target to leave the area if the missile is detected soon enough before it engages its terminal sensors, and the slower speed upon reentry leaves it vulnerable to missile interceptors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21

Übersetzung mit DeepL

Möglicherweise ist die DF-21D auch nicht so schnell wie vermutet. Während ballistische Raketen in 50 km Höhe mit Geschwindigkeiten zwischen Mach 8 und 15 in die Atmosphäre eintreten, reduziert der zunehmende Luftwiderstand in der dichteren unteren Atmosphäre die Endgeschwindigkeit auf etwa Mach 2 in 3 bis 5 km Höhe (9.800 bis 16.400 ft). Bis zu diesem Punkt kann das Ziel aufgrund der Ionisationsblockade nicht erfasst werden, so dass nur eine relativ kurze Zeit für die eigentliche Suche nach einem Schiff bleibt. Dies könnte es dem Ziel ermöglichen, das Gebiet zu verlassen, wenn die Rakete früh genug entdeckt wird, bevor sie ihre Endsensoren aktiviert, und die langsamere Geschwindigkeit beim Wiedereintritt macht sie anfällig für Abfangraketen.

[olpe]

Hallo,
ein aufschlussreicher Artikel ist hier erschienen: klick Spektrum.de ... recht technikorientiert - was geht und was nicht geht in Sachen Hyperschallflugkörper ...

Grüsse
OLPE