Army Research Lab Explores New Materials for Hypersonic Weapons in 2050

Video Above:US Hypersonic Weapons Make Rapid Advancements

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

(Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md) Hypersonic weapons are now firing from Air Force planes and Army ground launchers while also being fast tracked to fire from Navy destroyers by 2025 and Navy submarines by 2028, technological breakthroughs which are already reshaping warfare tactics and concepts of operation.

Projectiles that skip along the upper boundary of the earth’s atmosphere and descend upon targets at more than five times the speed of sound are no longer a “concept” for the future, they are here now and in the process of arming major US military platforms. The Air Force, for example, has already fired its Air Launched Rapid Response hypersonic weapon from a B-52.

What about hypersonic weapons 10 or 20 years from now? What will they consist of? How fast will they fire? Will they maneuver in flight, perhaps traveling at now unimagined speeds?

Army Research Laboratory

These are questions now being explored through cutting-edge basic research efforts at the Army Research Laboratory, where teams of engineers and scientists are experimenting with mixtures of ceramic, metal, polymer or composite materials at the microscopic level to uncover better “performing” materials with which to engineer the weapons of the future. While the work could yield near-term applications in the event of breakthrough testing, much of the exploration is aimed at uncovering “disruptive” or what could be called “massive,” paradigm-changing scientific breakthroughs.

Specific materials built into weapons systems bring distinct properties such as being lighter weight, more resistant to penetration or perhaps better equipped to maneuver and manage accurate flight at previously unimaginable and impossible temperatures.