Engineering:Hypersonic glide vehicle

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Short description: Ballistic missile warhead type


A hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) is a type of warhead for ballistic missiles that can maneuver and glide at hypersonic speed. It is used in conjunction with ballistic missiles to significantly change their trajectories after launch. Conventional ballistic missiles follow a predictable ballistic trajectory and are vulnerable to interception by the latest anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. The in-flight maneuverability of HGVs makes them unpredictable, allowing them to effectively evade air defenses.[1][2][3] As of 2022, hypersonic glide vehicles are the subject of an arms race.[4]

Projects

China

Chinese DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle mounted on the DF-17 ballistic missile.

France

  • V-MAX (fr) (first flight test took place on June 26, 2023 from the DGA's site in Biscarrosse and was successful).[8][9][10][11][12] VMaX-2 (under development; first flight test expected in 2024 or 2025)[13]

India

Iran

Japan

North Korea

There have also been reports of other hypersonic glide vehicle being mounted on the other ballistic missiles.[25][26]

Russia

Launch of the UR-100UTTKh ICBM, carrying the Avangard HGV, from Dombarovsky Air Base

US

American Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon being deployed at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
  • Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (experimental)
  • AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) (under development)
  • OpFires (under development)
  • Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) (in development for US Army (LRHW) and US Navy Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS))

Countermeasures

Boost-glide weapons are generally designed to avoid existing missile defense systems, either by continually maneuvering or by flying at lower altitudes to reduce warning time. This generally makes such weapons easier to intercept using defensive systems intended for lower-altitude "low-tier" targets. Flying at lower speeds than short-range ballistic missile warheads makes them easier to attack.[28] Those that approach with very low terminal attack profiles are even subject to attack by modern hypervelocity guns and railguns.[29] The evasion capabilities that HGVs employ are largely limited to the upper atmospheric flight span.[30][31][32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zastrow, Mark (November 4, 2021). "How does China's hypersonic glide vehicle work?". https://astronomy.com/news/2021/11/how-does-chinas-hypersonic-glide-vehicle-work. 
  2. ↑ "U.S. vs. China: The Race to Build Hypersonic Missiles", WSJ, 31 May 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZwk9hmCN8, retrieved 2022-11-17 
  3. ↑ "From Sänger to Avangard – hypersonic weapons come of age". https://www.aerosociety.com/news/from-saenger-to-avangard-hypersonic-weapons-come-of-age/. 
  4. ↑ "'National pride is at stake.' Russia, China, United States race to build hypersonic weapons". https://www.science.org/content/article/national-pride-stake-russia-china-united-states-race-build-hypersonic-weapons. 
  5. ↑ Gady, Franz-Stefan (28 April 2016). "China Tests New Weapon Capable of Breaching US Missile Defense Systems". The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2016/04/china-tests-new-weapon-capable-of-breaching-u-s-missile-defense-systems/. 
  6. ↑ AFP (1 September 2025). "Missiles, drones, lasers: New weapons expected at Beijing military parade". https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250901-missiles-drones-lasers-new-weapons-expected-at-beijing-military-parade. 
  7. ↑ Buckley, Chris; Chang, Agnes (3 September 2025). "China's Latest Missiles, Drones and Submarines, Up Close". https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/09/03/world/asia/china-military-parade-weapons.html. 
  8. ↑ "France debuts hypersonic glide weapon in first VMaX test flight". Air force tech. 28 June 2023. https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/france-debuts-hypersonic-glide-weapon-in-first-vmax-test-flight/. 
  9. ↑ "France Conducts First VMaX Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Test". Naval news. 27 June 2023. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/06/france-conducts-first-vmax-hypersonic-glide-vehicle-test/. 
  10. ↑ "France conducts first test firing of V-MAX hypersonic glider demonstrator". Aero time. 27 June 2023. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/v-max-hypersonic-trail-ufo-reports. 
  11. ↑ "La France a testé le planeur hypersonique VMAX d'Ariane Group" (in fr). Ouest France. 27 June 2023. https://www.ouest-france.fr/politique/defense/la-france-a-teste-le-planeur-hypersonique-vmax-dariane-group-e1f98112-14be-11ee-ae57-25b1d1d54a03. 
  12. ↑ "Armées : la France a testé pour la première fois un planeur hypervéloce, capable de voler à plus de Mach 5" (in fr). Le figaro. 27 June 2023. https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/la-france-a-teste-sa-premiere-arme-hypersonique-avec-un-planeur-depassant-les-6000-km-h-20230627. 
  13. ↑ "Le ministère des Armées va financer un second démonstrateur de planeur hypersonique, le VMaX-2" (in fr). Opex 360. 4 May 2023. https://www.opex360.com/2023/05/04/le-ministere-des-armees-va-financer-un-second-demonstrateur-de-planeur-hypersonique-le-vmax-2/. 
  14. ↑ Mandal, Sohini; Udoshi, Rahul (5 March 2025). "India's DRDO unveils BM-04 SRBM". Janes Information Services. https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-news/defence/indias-drdo-unveils-bm-04-srbm. 
  15. ↑ "India De-Classified 1,500-km BM-04 Tactical Missile With a Hypersonic Stage" (in en). 6 March 2025. https://en.defence-ua.com/weapon_and_tech/india_de_classified_1500_km_bm_04_tactical_missile_with_a_hypersonic_stage-13749.html. 
  16. ↑ "BM-04 short-range ballistic missile: DRDO reveals India's latest hypersonic weapon". The Economic Times. 2025-03-06. ISSN 0013-0389. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/bm-04-short-range-ballistic-missile-drdo-reveals-indias-latest-hypersonic-weapon/articleshow/118755583.cms?from=mdr. 
  17. ↑ Haider, Usman (2025-04-10). "The BM-04 Missile: India's Next-Generation Conventional Counterforce Weapon" (in en-US). https://thediplomat.com/2025/04/the-bm-04-missile-indias-next-generation-conventional-counterforce-weapon/. 
  18. ↑ "Japan unveils its hypersonic weapons plans". Yahoo. https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/japan-unveils-hypersonic-weapons-plans-160623712.html. 
  19. ↑ "Hwasong 8 Ballistic Missile with a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Military-Today.com". http://www.military-today.com/missiles/hwasong_8.htm. 
  20. ↑ Yang Ji-ho (2025-10-05). "North Korea's Hypersonic Missiles Threaten South". https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2025/10/05/LO4TTS7O2ND6XA67RI6RRGWIKM/. 
  21. ↑ Jeong Yun-yeong (2025-10-05). "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ko). https://www.news1.kr/diplomacy/defense-diplomacy/5935010. 
  22. ↑ "Kim Jong-un unveils two new North Korea combat drones resembling US's Reaper and Global Hawk". 27 July 2023. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/east-asia/north-korea-russia-ballistic-missiles-weapons-b2382891.html. 
  23. ↑ "North Korean nuclear weapons, 2024" (in en). https://thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rbul_a_2365013_t0001_full.pdf. 
  24. ↑ Zwirko, Colin (2024-04-02). "North Korea says Kim Jong Un led test of new 'Hwasong-16B' hypersonic missile" (in en-US). https://www.nknews.org/2024/04/north-korea-says-kim-jong-un-led-hwasong-16b-hypersonic-irbm-test/. 
  25. ↑ "Does North Korea have a real Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV)". https://b14643.eu/Spacerockets/Specials/North-Korea_HGV/index.htm. 
  26. ↑ Lendon, Yoonjung Seo, Brad (2022-01-10). "Suspected North Korea missile test hit speed of Mach 10, more advanced than previous test, Seoul says" (in en). https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/10/asia/north-korea-missile-intl/index.html. 
  27. ↑ "Avangard", Missile Threat (CSIS), https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/avangard/ .
  28. ↑ "Introducing The Ballistic Missile Defense Ship". 11 April 2014. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/introducing-ballistic-missile-defense-ship. "The downside is when the [HGV] warhead nears its target, it has less speed and altitude and is therefore more easily intercepted by low-tier interceptors, including potential rail guns." 
  29. ↑ Tadjdeh, Yasmin (26 January 2018). "Secretive Pentagon Office Shares Details About Hypervelocity Missile Defense Weapon". National Defense. https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2018/1/26/sco-developing-affordable-flexible-missile-defense-weapon-system. 
  30. ↑ Kunertova, Dominika. "Hypersonic Weapons: Fast, Furious… and Futile?". https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/rusi-newsbrief/hypersonic-weapons-fast-furiousand-futile. 
  31. ↑ Brockmann, Kolja (4 February 2022). "A matter of speed? Understanding hypersonic missile systems". SIPRI. https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2022/matter-speed-understanding-hypersonic-missile-systems. 
  32. ↑ Wright, David (August 2021). "The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons". https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-physics-and-hype-of-hypersonic-weapons/. 



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