Each month in Hot News AMI reviews various developments in the naval systems market. Our systems coverage goes beyond traditional program-focused reporting to help readers better understand underlying drivers that may affect many shipbuilding programs. This coverage also serves as a forward look into technical and operational developments that are “leading edge” indicators of where the naval market will go in the future.
This month we take such a forward look at the accelerating development of hypersonic weapons in the naval domain, reviewing recent developments in several regions. Hypersonic weapons are of high interest in the naval context as they offer faster and more lethal means of striking both ships and land targets than existing missile systems. Those characteristics also make hypersonic weapons increasingly difficult to defend against by most ship-based missile defense systems. This suggests that, as hypersonic missiles are operationally deployed on naval platforms in the next few years, requirements will soon emerge for counter-hypersonic systems, much like we have seen the emergence of specialized counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems in response to drone threats to ships.
US: The US Army and Navy have funded Lockheed Martin to develop the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program as a non-nuclear strategic weapon system. The weapon’s long range (hundreds or thousands of miles, speeds of Mach 5 or more) and maneuverability combine for a much higher probability of strike success with little chance of interception. The Navy’s FY2023 budget submission identifies a testing plan to enable CPS’s deployment on Zumwalt class destroyers by FY2025. Additional refits of the missile to Ohio class submarines have been discussed but not funded. Options for the Zumwalt refit range from retrofitting four missiles while retaining the 155mm gun mounts, to expanding the missile fit from six to eight, by removing both gun mounts.
Russia: Naval tests of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile continue, with a May 2022 test firing from an Admiral Gorshkov class frigate. The missile will be fitted on a variety of Russian Navy surface ships and submarines, and a mobile ground launcher configuration is expected. The Zircon has been described as having a speed of Mach 9 and range of over 600 miles, and is designed to strike both naval and land targets. Officials have claimed the Zircon is impossible to intercept with existing anti-missile systems.
China: In April 2022, the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) demonstrated a ship-launched capability for the YJ-21 (Eagle Strike 21) hypersonic anti-ship missile from a Type 055 guided-missile destroyer. Press reporting states it can reach speeds of Mach 5 and has a range of 600 miles.
Europe: France and the United Kingdom (UK) are working together on the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon program to succeed the current ship and submarine-based Harpoon and Exocet anti-ship systems, as well as the air-launched Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles. MBDA will receive funding from France’s Director General of Armaments (DGA) and the UK’s Defence and Equipment Support Agency. The French Navy and the Royal Navy are the direct customers. In July, Rolls Royce and Safran joined the MBDA team for propulsion work. Initial discussions earlier in the year indicated requirements for the program will include hypersonic capabilities, especially for the UK.
This quick review of naval hypersonic missile developments in 2022 highlights that, as current generations of anti-ship missiles (notably Exocet and Harpoon as well as existing systems in the Russian and Chinese Navies) reach the end of their operational life, their replacements represent a “step change” in capabilities as well as the need for effective countermeasures. While the systems are being developed by larger (in terms of budget) navies, other navies will likely be keen to keep up by acquiring hypersonic systems for their platforms. AMI will continue to follow both trends in these pages and our market intelligence databases.