By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
US Air Force 5th-generation aircraft will soon have the ability to fire an air-launched hypersonic missile able to destroy targets from stand-off distances at 5-times the speed of sound, a weapons-related development likely to introduce new tactics and concepts of operation in the realm of air attack.
The MAKO is a Lockheed-Martin-built missile tailorable to fire at enemy ships, ground vehicles or air defenses, using attack closing speed as a paradigm-changing advantage to elude detection. The missile has already been “fit-checked” on a variety of aircraft, to include the F-22, F-35, F/A-18, F-16, F-15 and P-8 Poseidon sub-hunting aircraft.
Part of the advantage with MAKO, its designers explain, is that it is built through a digital engineering process which means interfaces, technical standards, software and integration specifics can all be coordinated through computer simulation. With digital engineering development, weapons key performance parameters and specs can be replicated with great precision using computer simulation, enabling a wide range of variants and adaptations to be built from a single design model. Essentially, there is not a need to build multiple independent variants as software and computer adjustments can be made to tailor the weapon for specific mission requirements. Various warheads, seekers, guidance technologies and even explosives can be tailored and configured digitally and then manufactured for use in the weapon, a scenario which expedites production and variety to give commanders a wide range of options. Like many weapons, software and hardware upgrades can be made digitally and then quickly produced and integrated to adapt the weapon to new threats as it may emerge.
Given that it is built with digital engineering, the MAKO may also be configured to fire from bombers as well, a development which gives commanders a wider potential range of attack options. Advances in computer simulation have made it possible to assess weapons performance parameters in the digital realm before being manufactured, creating a circumstance wherein technology massive expedites the production curve and operational versatility.
Hypersonic Advantage
The tactical advantages of a air-launched hypersonics are a simple and clear as they are impactful, and they relate to speed of attack and impact. A projectile traveling at 5 times the speed of sound presents a significant dilemma for air defenses which are likely to be struck and destroyed before there is an opportunity to develop a “track” on the target and intercept it. The concept is similar when it comes to attack enemy surface ships or ground vehicle formations, as ship commanders are not likely to have a sufficient time window with which to develop a track on an incoming target in time to jam, block, intercept or destroy it. The entire concept with a hypersonic weapon is to overwhelm an enemy with speed of attack, provided the weapon can sustain hypersonic speeds and close in on its target with precision accuracy.
MAKO vs. Chinese YJ-21
The arrival of MAKO is quite significant given the emergence of China’s YJ-21 hypersonic missile, as it suggests the US may be closing the gap with China in the ongoing race for hypersonic weapons. China has not only fired-off a ship-launched YJ-21 Naval variant but also armed its H-6K bomber with an air-launched YJ-21 hypersonic weapon, a circumstance which doubtless puts great pressure on the US to match or counter the threat. Should the MAKO operate as intended, and the indications are that it will, its conceivable that the weapon could match our out-pace fast-emerging Chinese hypersonic weapons.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
