The US Navy Strategic Systems Programs live tested the second stage Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) in support of the navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) offensive hypersonic strike capability and the army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).
The second stage SRM ground test, preceded by the first in May, successfully examined the “newly developed missile booster, as well as a thrust vector control system on the SRM.”
“The second stage SRM will be part of a new missile booster for the services, and will be combined with a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB) to create the common hypersonic missile,” the service revealed.
Hypersonic Missile
With a speed of over Mach 5, the hypersonic missile comprises the CHGB and a booster. The booster launches the CHGB, after which the CHGB travels at hypersonic speed toward the target.
The CPS is a non-nuclear hypersonic weapon system project for a “precise and timely strike capability in contested environments.” The CPS and the LRHW will use identical hypersonic missiles, “while developing individual weapon systems and launchers tailored for launch from sea or land.” The platform’s common design for sea and land-based hypersonic missiles provides economies of scale for future production.
Joint Development
The Pentagon successfully tested the CHGB last year and is collaborating with government national laboratories and industry for its development and production. The navy is the lead designer of the missile glide body while the army leads production. The missile will reportedly have a range of more than 2,775 km (1,724 miles).
The two services will conduct joint flight tests of the missiles in the next stage of development, with subsequent deployment of the two weapon systems.