"Kinzhal" hypersonic aviation-missile complex

Very large rocket powered missiles rarely have single burn rocket fuel... it simply is not efficient.

Very simply rocket fuel burns at a fixed rate that can't be changed after it is made, so most very long range rockets use two types of fuel.

If they used all high power high energy fast burning fuel it would rapidly accelerate but then drag would slow it down... most modern AAMs have at least two rocket fuel types too... the first is fast burning high energy fuel that accelerates the weapon off the missile rail and accelerates it rapidly to high speed. For long range missiles the missile often climbs at the same time, but that high energy fuel burns rapidly so it quickly burns out.... the problem is air... the more power you apply to the rocket the faster it goes but it is not consistent... doubling the engine power does not double the speed and as you get faster and faster for a given aerodynamic shape it actually gets worse... so 10 ton thrust at mach 3, does not mean 20 tons thrust means mach 6... no matter how powerful the engine is there will be a top speed limit so burning high energy rocket fuel all the way to the target means the rocket might reach top speed at 15 seconds in to the flight, but for the rest of the flight it wont accelerate any more, but because the rocket fuel is high energy it also burns much faster so in 50 or 60 seconds it burns out and all of a sudden you have no power and drag starts to decelerate you fairly rapidly unless you compensate with a dive.

A better solution is to use lower energy rocket fuel that burns much much longer but does not have as much energy.

Once the first high energy fuel is burned you don't need to continue using high energy fuel to maintain speed... in fact you just need to counter drag to maintain speed which uses a lot less energy and can burn for several minutes instead of seconds for the high energy fuel.

It has an added bonus for missiles like Iskander, which Kinzhal is based upon because neither missile has large external control surfaces, so it is the lower energy fuel with internal control surfaces that direct the rocket thrust that actually steer the missile on to the target anyway... and it is known that the missile manouvers during its entire flight... it does not have a ballistic path... which proves I am right and you are not.

That was brutal!

A colourful way of stating things, but largely accurate... it is just his opinion and he is totally wrong in this case regarding the workings of the missile in question.

Arrow wrote:The new AAMs also burn fuel very quickly and fly a large part of the flight without propulsion. Only AAM Meteorite has a ramjet engine that works longer. Therefore, Zircon is a better option than Kindzal and scramjet can replace some rocket engines. The scramjet engine can run much longer. This is a breakthrough, not Iskander fired from an airplane.

Iskander and kinzhals follow a quasi-ballistic trajectory maneuvering at every phase of their flights. Ballistic missiles do not face drag because of this so such high speeds can still be maintained. Air-breathable missiles deal with drag better Oniks and Moskit with high and low altitudes which is why the supersonic variants of kalibr have to follow a ballistic trajectory but their flight ceilings of 1km are not that bad. The U.S. has not presented any progression or projects as of yet to utilize scramjet and ramjet designs which is sort of sad seeing a British missile company make them for their f-35s and even the French show better progression than the U.S. in Air breathable engines. For example look at the igla projects, the IL-76 hypersonic drone introduction which shows the total 6 meter reference and it also shows that the rocket engine appears longer than the scramjet engine which suggests the scramjet is smaller than 3 meters and the Brahmos-NG, that they can easily have a project similar to HAWCs or the ASN4G already operational but their tasks and goals of a similar project are to put one inside the Su-57 which is a little more difficult with a 4.6 meter by 1 meter reference weapons bay and the addition of a warhead unlike the drone example.

Meteor has a 150km range, k-77m has a 193km range also there is the k-77me that features a ramjet design.

The new AAMs also burn fuel very quickly and fly a large part of the flight without propulsion.

Would those happen to be the ones with the fins and control surfaces on the outside so they can manouver to hit their target?

Short range missiles generally have two types of fuel too... as I described simply because losing less speed to drag means it travels faster for longer... greatly increasing flight range over having all high energy fuel that gets it to a slightly higher peak speed but then slowing down much faster on the way to the target.

Only AAM Meteorite has a ramjet engine that works longer.

It is only a ramjet so its speed is limited to similar to most contemporary small rockets... ie mach 4-6.

A Scramjet powered missile can move at twice that speed or faster... but both types of engine allow intelligent throttling which rocket fuel can't.

A solid rocket fuel missile launched at low altitude will burn up its high energy fuel trying to climb and accelerate so it wont get to the height or speed the same missile would get if launched at high altitude so the range will be much shorter.

Launched at lower altitude its top speed will be much lower because drag will be higher so that high energy fuel will be wasted at low to medium altitude.

A ramjet or scramjet powered missile could use a relatively low throttle setting when launched at low altitude to climb and as it climbs it will be able to go faster and faster to the throttle will increase as it climbs so it wont waste fuel at low altitude... once it gets to altitude it can accelerate to speed and then throttle back to just overcome drag... greatly extending range and speed over a solid fuelled rocket.

Note it was mentioned that the newest short range IIR missile the Russians have has three rocket fuels, with a high power and then a low power, but also another high power fuel which is separate from the first two. On launch the first high power fuel accelerates the missile up to speed and to climb a little depending on the target and its distance. That fuel burns out fairly quickly but once it burns out the lower energy fuel burns to maintain speed and counter drag. When the missile gets close to the target... even if the low energy fuel is still burning the other fuel lights up giving much more energy to the thrust vectoring engine to allow extreme turns and manouver performance to the missile... even if the target is 30km away... it will burn the first and second fuels and then coast to the target... when it gets close it fires up the high energy terminal attack fuel... very clever... obvious... but clever.

Therefore, Zircon is a better option than Kindzal and scramjet can replace some rocket engines. The scramjet engine can run much longer. This is a breakthrough, not Iskander fired from an airplane.

Yeah, you are missing the apples for the trees buddy.

A scramjet motor is much more efficient and clever, but a rocket powered Kinzhal does the job and because it was based on an existing weapon it is practically already in production and is now in service.

It is a bit like the Army needing an artillery rocket that can be fired from the back of a small vehicle... using an 80mm rocket pod developed for aircraft... already in service and production... you just need to modify the launcher and it is ready to go.

Meteor has a 150km range, k-77m has a 193km range also there is the k-77me that features a ramjet design.

R-37M has hit targets in tests at a flight range of 300km.

Russia and the Soviet Union have lots of ramjet powered missiles... from the SA-6, and Kh-31 family, through quite a few of their low flying supersonic anti ship missiles like Granit and Vulkan and Moskit.

May 9th rehearsal:

That's a mission kill against a Ford-class CVN right there

On 2nd thoughts, shoot at the Nimitz-class instead. The Ford can't even launch aircraft....

magnumcromagnon wrote:May 9th rehearsal:

Such a brutishly beautiful machine.

Easy to look pretty when you are so well endowed...

The point is that with the INF treaty gone you can upgrade the airborne version and the ground launched version so any improvement effects the ground and air components of your military.

Quite a while ago a member called Ironsightsniper suggested a naval version of the Iskander after he heard about its ability to manouver and evade enemy air defences.

I said it wouldn't make sense simply because while the INF treaty does not apply to naval weapons on ships or aircraft weapons on aircraft, the development of longer ranged naval models would lead to the US accusing Russia of potentially breaking the INF treaty when naval models of the missile exceed 500km range.

Now that the US has torn up the INF treaty I am thinking a new model Iskander that could fit in a UKSK-M tube with a range of 2-3 thousand kms would be rather interesting.... the problem of course is that the speed of rocket powered weapons is fairly limited... replace it with a rocket boosted scramjet powered missile and you get potentially more speed and more range for the same weight of fuel... and with smart control of the fuel consumption with a jet engine rather than a rocket, it should be even more flexible and capable... so in a way I am thinking Zircon could be adapted to be that weapon anyway... increase its dimensions to fully fit the launch tube and use new rocket propellent to get it moving faster and higher with less weight of rocket fuel leaving more space for scramjet fuel which means faster and longer ranged...

There is plenty of scope for the Army to improve their Iskanders that are already widely in service now.

Cold "Dagger": the Northern fleet will receive a strategic weapon

Marine aviation will be equipped with a hypersonic missile system for non-nuclear deterrence

It was decided in principle to arm the Northern fleet's Maritime aviation with the Kinzhal hypersonic complex. Training of personnel and infrastructure for the maintenance and operation of hypersonic weapons will begin next year, sources in the defense Ministry told Izvestia. How long it will take, the military refused to specify. Experts note that the novelty will become a means of strategic deterrence and a tool for demonstrating Russia's strength in the Arctic region.

In the role of carriers of hypersonic missiles" Dagger " use MiG-31 fighters. Such vehicles in the composition of the 45th army of the air force and air defense of the Northern fleet (SF) are now equipped with a squadron of the 98th mixed aviation regiment, located in Monchegorsk on the Kola Peninsula. The complex may enter service with a new aviation unit, which was previously reported by Izvestia.

Chief of the General staff Valery Gerasimov previously told that the missile tests were successfully conducted at test ranges with various climatic conditions, including the Arctic. He also reported on the development of the airfield network to expand the geography of use of the "Dagger".

Earlier this year, the commander of the Central military district, Alexander Lapin, announced plans to equip the 712th fighter aviation regiment in Kansk with hypersonic systems by 2024. Izvestia has already written that there are plans to create squadrons with such missiles in other units equipped with the MiG-31.

From the beginning of 2021, the SF itself will become an independent military district, the fifth in a row. The area of responsibility of the new entity will include the Arctic region, the Arctic coast of Russia and the Northern sea route (NSR). The Atlantic ocean is also included in the sphere of activity of its ships. "Dagger" is capable of striking targets at a range of up to 2 thousand km. Its radius will include Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and most of the NSR. At the same time, the rocket not only has a hypersonic speed, but also maneuvers in flight. The military claims that this makes it invulnerable to existing and prospective air defense and missile DEFENSE systems.

— The Northern fleet has always been an operational and strategic Association that ensures the country's security not only in the Arctic ocean, but also in the Atlantic theater of military operations, — told Izvestia the former commander of the submarine, Hero of Russia rear Admiral Vsevolod khmyrov. — His area of responsibility is the Norwegian sea and everything South of it in the Atlantic. Traditionally, the Northern sea route, the shortest route between Europe and the Far East, is also provided by the Northern fleet. Its forces should be ready not only for use near its own shores, but also at a considerable distance from them. Therefore, when building a fleet, the state should adhere to the principle of balanced weapons systems. We are talking about a combination of surface, underwater, ground, air and space forces.

Recently, NATO's activity in the Arctic region has increased, and Russia, accordingly, is also increasing its forces on the Northern borders, the expert added.

— For any Maritime state, the Navy is the most powerful weapon, even in peacetime. Its functions include, among other things, demonstration of force operations, " the rear Admiral explained.
A weapon of deterrence

Air-based Dagger missiles are one of the newest types of strategic weapons. President Vladimir Putin spoke about them in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2018.
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In the journal of the Ministry of defense "Military Thought", the hypersonic" Dagger " is named as a weapon designed to perform strategic tasks in the pre-nuclear phase of large-scale conflicts. It is designed to destroy critical enemy facilities, including military infrastructure, as well as public administration nodes. Its very presence in service is called a factor of strategic non-nuclear deterrence, which can stop or prevent hostile actions of opponents against Russia.

— Such a product in any direction will be useful — -said the former commander of the 4th army of the air force and air defense, Lieutenant General Valery Gorbenko, to Izvestia. — This is the strongest weapon, other countries do not have such a thing. From the airfields of the SF hypersonic complexes will cover both the Northern and North-Western territories. Today, air defense systems that could intercept the Dagger simply do not exist. Therefore, these missiles will be able to effectively perform their tasks if necessary.

A squadron of ten aircraft with new ammunition is available so far only in the southern military district. She took up experienced combat duty in December 2017.

During the first year of operation, the military reported on more than 380 completed flights related to patrolling over the Black and Caspian seas. Subsequently, the defense Ministry reported several launches of "Daggers" during major exercises. Aircraft with these missiles operated jointly with su-57 and long-range strategic bombers.
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According to the defense Ministry, the MiG-31K is also capable of interacting with other equipment. Thus, the upgraded Il-20M electronic reconnaissance aircraft can issue target designation directly to the Dagger via a secure communication channel.

https://iz.ru/1099851/anton-lavrov-roman-kretcul/kholodnyi-kinzhal-severnyi-flot-poluchit-strategicheskoe-oruzhie

Supposedly a pic from one of the first flights with a prototype of the Kinzhal, back in 2016.

An infrastructure for storage, repair and maintenance of the Kinzhal hypersonic complexes will appear on the territory of Russia.

https://en.topwar.ru/190981-minoborony-sozdaet-infrastrukturu-dlja-giperzvukovyh-kompleksov-kinzhal.html

Not to mention putting it on a MiG-31 makes it exceptionally mobile so the launch position can be decided and the missile moved to that location in less than 20 minutes.... at mach 2.6 it can cover 750km in less than 15 minutes, so the actual launch position could be within a radius of 1,500km around the airfield it operates from within 20 minutes of getting the order...

With inflight refuelling and inflight refuelling tankers meeting it along the way it could fly supersonically from top up point to top up point and transfer very rapidly to unexpected places very easily...

Launch of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile