{"id":54636,"date":"2020-08-05T22:47:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T22:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/05\/heres-how-the-dod-plans-to-meet-its-ambitious-hypersonic-missile-test-schedule\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:03:44","slug":"heres-how-the-dod-plans-to-meet-its-ambitious-hypersonic-missile-test-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/smd\/2020\/08\/05\/heres-how-the-dod-plans-to-meet-its-ambitious-hypersonic-missile-test-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"How the DoD plans to meet its ambitious hypersonic missile test schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Army \u2014 in conjunction with the Navy \u2014 is planning to conduct three flight tests of its hypersonic glide body<\/a> in 2021, an ambitious schedule to initially field the weapon in fiscal 2023<\/a>, according to Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood, who oversees the Army\u2019s rapid development of hypersonics, directed energy and space capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, the Army and Navy had a successful first flight test of its Common-Hypersonic Glide Body<\/a>, which was launched and flew at hypersonic speed to a designated impact point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hypersonic weapons are capable of flying faster than the speed of sound \u2014 Mach 5 \u2014 and can maneuver between varying altitudes and azimuths, making it harder to detect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Department has been jointly developing the body that will serve as the base of its offensive hypersonic missile. The test marks a significant step forward in accomplishing that mission amid mounting criticism that the United States is behind China and Russia in hypersonic weapons development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The C-HGB will be made up of the weapon\u2019s warhead, guidance system, cabling and thermal protection shield. Each service will use the body as the base while developing individual weapon systems such as launchers capable of firing the weapons from land or sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just have to tell you that the flight test program is very aggressive,\u201d Thurgood told Defense News during its Space and Missile Defense Debrief Aug. 5 The event followed the SMD Symposium which took place virtually August 4. \u201cAnd we need to be aggressive in order to keep on pace and really be competitive with our near peer competitors, namely Russia and China,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Army gets closer to its fielding goal for the Block I version in fiscal year 2023, every flight test needs to meet defined objectives. \u201cWe do it for distance, we do it for speed, we do it for accuracy and we do it for lethality,\u201d Thurgood said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And moving forward, the services will have to \u201cdramatically\u201d accelerate the pace of the program, he said. That means conducting a flight test in the middle of 2021 and another two later in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNext year, our intent is to do several flight tests versus where we basically have been done or have completed the flight test, kind of, once every three years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur intent is to use all of those flight tests, not just for the engineering work, but also for training work for our soldiers,\u201d Thurgood said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about pushing the red button, you know, making the missile go where it wants to. It\u2019s about the kill chain, identifying targets, how we pass mission sets, and start training that at a speed at which we would be operating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Department, in this case, \u201ccannot afford for discrete events, meaning events for a singular outcome,\u201d Thurgood said. \u201cWe have to use our resources wisely and we have to apply as many things in each event as we can without driving the risk up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to carry out three tests next year, the Army\u2019s Space and Missile Defense Technical Center is planning to beef up its personnel involved, and is partnering with other organizations such as the Missile Defense Agency within the DoD to bring in the necessary expertise, Thomas Webber said in another interview with Defense News during its SMD Debrief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technical center\u2019s flight test director at the Ronald Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands oversaw the hypersonic test in March. The center manages the site and has direct links to conducting the test and collecting the data to determine successful flight test performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you look at a test of that complexity, the challenges are just numerous and it\u2019s very complex,\u201d Webber said. \u201cBut when using the disciplined approaches that we use and having a dedicated team of not just Army personnel, but this includes the Navy, the Missile Defense Agency, and our industry partners, those challenges are overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Webber noted that the sharing of people and resources \u201chas just been tremendous across the services and across the [MDA]. I would also tell you that the contractor team has been tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t