The Future of Hypersonic Weapon Systems

Hypersonic missiles entered the defense landscape as a military technology trend in 2020, and have quickly become a vital solution in the arsenal of many modern militaries.

The core hypersonic missile definition remains unchanged — a missile traveling at Mach 5 speed or faster combined with precision maneuverability. Yet the aerodynamic technology that enables these features continues to evolve and deliver more advantages.

As part of a layered defense strategy, hypersonic missiles focus on persistent surveillance, target detection, and threat deterrence. In order to focus on so many elements effectively, a powerful network of sub-systems must be reliably connected and work together seamlessly within the comprehensive hypersonic weapon systems. Those sub-systems include:

• Launch
• Seeker sensor
• Data processing
• Communication
• Navigation
• Flight control

The launch sub-system provides the propulsion and aerodynamics for the hypersonic missile’s speed. And with speed comes another sought-after advantage: distance. By flying 10 to 15 times faster than the speed of sound, a hypersonic missile can travel 10,000 miles in less than an hour, giving it an intercontinental range.

Hypersonic missiles also have flexibility in launch approach — they can be fired from aircraft, ground, or submarines to accommodate air-to-air, air-to-surface, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface responses.

Connectivity components, such as connectors, control box units, harnesses, interfaces, and assemblies, must be integrated into the sub-system for successful launch. Power sources within the broader weapon systems, such as
engine-driven generators, auxiliary power units, batteries, and external power, can be controlled with lightweight, high-power contactors. 

As the weapon systems’ control center, the guidance processor unit (GPU) pulls in a cache of real-time information being gathered from other sub-systems, like the seeker sensors, communication, and navigation. Data about the identification, location, and trajectory of a target’s flight path must be received by and processed in the GPU immediately to allow the missile to make an instant decision on how to respond. It must then promptly send the information about that decision to the launch and flight control sub-systems to execute the intended maneuver.

Computing and analyzing such large amounts of data in real time while in flight is a complex task. Hypersonic guidance systems require high-speed, low-latency electronics that can send and receive information through multiple data link methods, such as GPS, radio frequency, or satellite. All that vital information must also connect and communicate seamlessly with every other sub-system in the limited space of a missile by using micro- and nano-miniature connectors
and high-performance wire and cable.

In order to detect targets and deter threats, seeker technology relies on sensitive sensors that are sophisticated enough to recognize the distinct signature of an offensive target or an incoming threat.

Positioned in the nose of the missiles, sensors must package the relays, wiring, and connectors to allow for a great deal of bandwidth in a tight space for complex signal processing.

Missile sensors can leverage a variety of techniques, including optical detection of laser beams, physical detection of an infrared signature, or radar detection. Any of these options require significant wiring and cabling as well as flex circuitry and multiple interconnect points to feed vital sensor data to the GPU.

After the GPU analyzes the data and locks in a decision to launch a missile toward a target, it communicates that decision and the necessary flight path to the control sub-system to execute the maneuver. Instead of the parabolic trajectory seen in traditional intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), hypersonic missiles can take a scrambled flight path. Additionally, most modern military programs utilize multiple missiles at once. A swarm of hypersonic missiles on an unconventional flight path makes it nearly impossible for opposing forces to predict and intercept.

This extremely controlled, high-speed maneuverability depends on a powerful engine and precision steering working in tandem.

As hypersonic military technology trends become more widely used in layered defense systems, methods of observation, detection, and responsiveness must be adapted. One such improvement will likely be data link capabilities with satellites in both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Mid Earth Orbit (MEO). This allows weapon systems to take advantage of the keen visual resolution at LEO, as well as the wider aperture ability at MEO. That also means even higher-speed and lower-latency electronics will be required to reliably send quality information back and forth between different types of satellites and the weapon systems.

Improving observation and persistent surveillance will require sensors to have more sophisticated signature recognition capabilities to prevent mistaking a nonthreatening object for a true threat. And that influx of data must be processed fast enough to successively make contact with an intended target as well as thwart incoming hypersonic threats from opposing forces.

All of these advanced performance elements require all connectivity components — antennas, cable and wire, circuitry, clamps, connectors, crimps, electronics, harnesses, printed circuit boards (PCBs), sensors, solder joints, and more — to be even smaller and lighter weight while maintaining the ruggedness required for survivability. By pairing its expertise in space and defense, TE Connectivity (TE) can guide manufacturers through the design of rugged connectors with enough speed, bandwidth, durability, and reliability to meet the needs of an evolving defense and military industry.

• Aerodynamic hypersonic missile technology is rapidly evolving as a critical element of a layered defense strategy.
• A robust network of integrated sub-systems — launch, seeker sensor, data processing, communication, navigation, and flight control — forms comprehensive hypersonic weapon systems.
• Advanced data link capabilities with LEO and MEO satellites as well as improved signature recognition capabilities will propel the next generation of hypersonics.
• TE balances both SWaP and survivability considerations when designing components for hypersonic weapon systems projects.