미 해군, 극초음속 대함미사일(HALO) 개발 시작

[위종민]

https://breakingdefense.com/2023/03/halo-navy-taps-lockheed-raytheon-to-start-developing-hypersonic-ship-killing-weapon/

LRASM의 후속으로 극초음속대함미사일(HALO; Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface) 개발에 착수했다고 합니다. LM과 레이시온에 2024년 말까지 예비설계 요청을 했다고 하며 1단계 계약으로 1억 1천 600만 달러 규모의 계약을 체결했네요. 배치 목표는 2020년대 후반입니다. 

현재 미군이 개발중인 극초음속 무기는 버지니아급 SSN과 줌왈트급 구축함에 탑재할 예정인 미 해군의 CPS( Conventional Prompt Strike)가 있고, 미육군이 CPS의 지상배치 버전을 배치할 계획입니다. 또한 미공군은 HACM(Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile)과 ARRW(Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon) 두 프로그램을 진행중인데, ARRW는 3월 초 실험 실패 이후로 미 공군이 폐기를 원한다는 뉴스가 있네요. ( https://breakingdefense.com/2023/03/air-force-to-ditch-troubled-arrw-hypersonic-missile/ )

Hypersonic ship-killer: Navy taps Lockheed, Raytheon to start developing HALO missile

Justin Katz

3-4 minutes

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Lockheed Martin’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) is the predecessor to the Navy’s HALO program. (Credit Lockheed Martin)

Updated 3/29/2023 at 11:30 AM EDT with comment from Lockheed Martin.

WASHINGTON — The US Navy has tapped Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to begin developing their own prototypes of a ship-killing, air-launched hypersonic weapon with the companies producing preliminary designs by the end of 2024 and, eventually, a prototype test flight.

The Tuesday night announcement by Naval Air Systems Command, the service’s chief agency for procuring aircraft and their associated weapons, said both companies received contracts “valued at a total of $116 million” for the “first step to fielding a critical capability over the next decade that will address advanced threats and allow the Navy to operate in and control contested battle space in littoral waters and anti-access/area denial environments.”

The weapon itself has been dubbed the Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface, or HALO, and is the follow-on program to the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, which was produced by Lockheed Martin and is currently fielded on the Navy’s F/A-18 and the Air Force’s B-1B.

“As threat capability continues to advance, additional range, warfare capability and capacity is required to address the more demanding threat environment,” said Capt. Richard Gensley, precision strike weapons program manager. “Our team is leveraging science and technology and rapid prototyping arenas to support aggressive schedule execution.”

“To bridge the gap until HALO is operational, the Navy recently funded an upgrade to the existing weapon which will incorporate missile hardware and software improvements to enhance targeting capabilities,” according to the Navy’s announcement.

The new weapon’s fielding is planned for “later this decade,” the statement added.

Scott Fisher, director of air dominance and strike weapons advanced programs at Lockheed Martin, told Breaking Defense today the company “looks forward to partnering with the Navy to rapidly get a carrier-based hypersonic strike capability to the fleet. Our HALO team offers industry-leading expertise in hypersonics, missile integration and anti-surface warfare, and we’re on a fast track to first flight and fielding HALO.”

A spokesperson for Raytheon did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Breaking Defense.

HALO is one of a handful of new hypersonic weapons the Pentagon is developing and fielding. The Navy’s program of choice for both the Zumwalt-class destroyers and the Virginia-class submarines is the Conventional Prompt Strike program, which plans to begin purchasing all-up-rounds in fiscal 2024.

The Army is fielding its own land-based variant of Conventional Prompt Strike derived from the same core technologies. Meanwhile the Air Force is moving forward with two separate hypersonic programs: the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile and the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon.

[Minowski(김유철)]

지금까지 개발계획들을 보면 함대함은 딱히 극초음속을 염두하지 않는 것으로 봐야겠죠? 차라리 JSM 성능을 끓어올리는 쪽으로 투자는 하겠지만..

[위종민]

개인적으론 미션 킬이 아니라 실제로 함선을 대파나 격침시킬 수 있는 큰 녀석이 필요한 경우에나 (어차피 미사일이 커지니) 극초음속을 염두에 두지 않을까 합니다.