美国高超声速计划正在向武器化道路上迈进 | U.S. Hypersonic Programs Hit First Bumps On Path To Weaponization

2017年5月3日，时任空军代理部长的莉萨·迪斯布罗（Lisa Disbrow）授权通过开发“空射快速反应武器”（ARRW），将美军带入了高超声速技术的武器化时代。

By the stroke of a pen on May 3, 2017, Lisa Disbrow, then-acting Air Force secretary, ushered the U.S. military into the weaponization age of hypersonic flight by authorizing development of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW).

从字面意思即可以看出，ARRW是一种“武器”，而不是用于测试或其他用途的飞行器。

The keyword in that name is “weapon.”

在过去的七十年中，美国国防部一直在对对高超声速飞行器进行测试，但仅作为了X系列验证机和演示样机。但在俄罗斯和中国在2014-2016年进行的一系列突破性飞行试验从而确立了明显的优势之后，美国空军决定开发并部署一套新型机动式高超声速武器。

In each of the previous seven decades, the Defense Department had tested hypersonic vehicles but only as X-planes and demonstrators. This time, it was different. After Russia and China had established a clear lead over the U.S. in a series of breakthrough flight tests staged between 2014 and 2016, the Air Force decided to start fielding a new set of maneuvering hypersonic weapons.

在2020年，五角大楼计划对进攻性高超声速武器的投资平均每年预算约20亿美元，其中包括空射、陆射和海射的，采用滑翔或有动力飞行的高超声速导弹。

In 2020, the Pentagon’s portfolio of offensive hypersonic programs has metastasized with an annual budget averaging about $2 billion, which spans air-, land- and sea-launched missiles using two different forms of propulsion.

但并非所有进展都严格按照最初计划进行。

Not that everything has gone strictly according to plan.

2020年4月，空军取消了第二个空射高超声速导弹计划，即“高超声速常规打击武器”（HCSW）。同时，DARPA计划在2019年试飞的“战术助推滑翔”（TBG）演示飞行器到目前仍未投入飞行。 由于TBG和ARRW的技术通用，因此ARRW实现早期作战能力（EOC）的里程碑也至少推迟了一年，可能直到2022年9月才会达到EOC。这些延误都增加了ARRW计划的成本，但美国空军通过取消HCSW项目节省的资金则部分弥补了这些超支的成本。

In April, the Air Force canceled the second air-launched missile program, which was called the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW). Meanwhile, DARPA planned to fly the Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) demonstrator in 2019, but it still has not flown yet. TBG and ARRW share a common design, so the early operational capability (EOC) milestone for ARRW also is delayed by at least a year, to September 2022. The delays increased the costs for the ARRW program, which the Air Force partly offset by canceling HCSW.

而这种计划的延迟也是国防部在新开发策略下的结果。在最初的计划中，军方着重于尽快通过飞行测试阶段从而进入作战原型机阶段的开发，从而在装备少量导弹后即可宣布达到EOC。自2019年以来采用的新策略使诸如ARRW导弹的飞行测试时间表得以延长，以换取设计上的改进和供应链的调整，从而可以缩短生产周期。

The delays are also a result of a new strategy. The original plan focused on ushering operational prototypes through the flight-test phase as quickly as possible, allowing the services to declare an EOC with a handful of leftover spare missiles. A new strategy, adopted since 2019, accepts a lengthier schedule for the air-launched missile flight-test programs, such as ARRW, in exchange for design changes and supply chain decisions, thereby shortening the production cycle.

国防部现代化研究与发展部主任Mark Lewis表示：实际上他们希望两个项目（ARRW和TBG）都可以投入实际生产，目前研究策略的改变也源于这一点，他们也一直在思考DARPA的项目需要什么，以最大程度地提高投资回报率。”

“I would say that some of the changes you are seeing are coming from the fact that we said, ‘We want both of these programs to roll into actual production systems,” says Mark Lewis, the Defense Department’s director of research and development for modernization. “So we’ve been thinking through what things we need to do with these DARPA programs to maximize the return on investment.”

目前ARRW有两种设计版本，首先计划投入服役的ARRW是洛克希德·马丁公司的AGM-183A，雷神公司则表示在开发一种可以满足ARRW需求的更先进的设计。而DARPA的TBG计划则是针对这两款ARRW设计的低风险改进项目。

Specifically, DARPA’s TBG program is the risk-reduction program for two different versions of ARRW. The first ARRW design scheduled to become operational is the Lockheed Martin AGM-183A. But Raytheon is developing a different design to meet the ARRW requirement, which the company says will be more advanced.

同样，DARPA也选择了洛克希德·马丁和雷神公司的采用超燃冲压发动机的高超声速巡航导弹，即“吸气式高超声速武器概念”（HAWC）的两种设计也预计将在2019年进行飞行测试，但目前进度也落后于计划。最近，洛克希德的HAWC项目样机在一次挂载飞行测试中出现意外而受损，这次事故目前正在调查中，也必将使该项目出现延迟。

Likewise, DARPA selected Lockheed and Raytheon versions of a scramjet-powered cruise missile. Both versions of the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) also were expected to enter flight testing in 2019 but fell behind schedule. Most recently, the Lockheed version of HAWC was destroyed during a captive-carry flight test that is now under investigation.

对于DARPA的项目需求，Lewis认为目前的研发策略并没有完全针对实际需求，而且DARPA的研究规划也没能实现效用最大化。他表示，如果研究的目的是要实现超声速武器的大规模交付，那么规划的性质就要改变；而如果研究的目的是进行技术探索，那么目前这些项目并没有实现更深入的技术研究。

 “The question now across the board over all our hypersonic programs is, how do we maximize the utility of these [DARPA] programs so they give us the information we need?” Lewis asks. “Our goal is delivering hypersonics at scale, and that can change the nature of your program. If you’re doing an exploration program for exploration’s sake—and I’m not taking anything away from those programs at all—that’s somewhat different than if I’m doing a program that’s feeding data into a follow-on effort with specific goals and requirements.

因此，他们目前正在对各项目进行调查，例如来自项目X的数据要林来自项目Y的更加先进，那么就要考虑是否X项目中所有数据都比项目Y的数据更好；如果不是这样，那么就要重新考虑投资的方向。这就是美国军方目前在项目投资中的心态。

 “So we are looking at our programs and saying, if the data from program X leads to the follow-on program Y, then how do we make sure that all of the data we get out of program X is of value to program Y? And conversely, if it isn’t, then we need to rethink the investment. That’s the mindset we are applying across the portfolio,” Lewis says.

对于ARRW项目，这种策略转变的影响是巨大的。美国政府问责局（GAO）于2020年6月报告称，在2019年3月，一系列“计划环境的变化”使成本增加了39％，总成本达到11.6亿美元。虽然GAO没有详细说明原来的成本为多少，但从百分比增加可以计算出来原始预算约为8.365亿美元。

For ARRW, the impact of the philosophical shift has been dramatic. In March 2019, a set of “changing program circumstances” increased costs by 39% to $1.16 billion, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in June 2020. The GAO did not elaborate, but the percentage increase implies an original budget of about $836.5 million.

如果要在2022财年末实现EOC里程碑，那么ARRW项目现在已几乎没有犯错的余地。美国空军最初要求洛克希德在2021年8月，即合同授予后的36个月内实现EOC里程碑。但是由于飞行测试延误，洛克希德的ARRW项目中的四次飞行测试计划的首次已推迟到2021年10月，第四次飞行测试目前定于2022年9月——这是2022财年的最后一个月。

The road to an EOC milestone by the end of fiscal 2022 now includes little margin for error. The Air Force originally called for Lockheed to achieve the EOC milestone in August 2021, or 36 months after the contract award. But the schedule delays have pushed the first of four planned flight tests of the Lockheed version of ARRW to October 2021, with the fourth sortie now scheduled for September, the last month of fiscal 2022.

ARRW在时间表上的延迟所带来的压力，完全与该项目的技术“野心”有关。

Adding to the schedule pressure for ARRW is the sheer technological ambition of the program.

当然目前可以肯定的是，五角大楼多项高超声速武器项目中每个项目都面临着挑战。如“通用高超声速滑翔体”（C-HGB）试图建造一种射程中等的通用型弹体，它可以装备于海军潜艇上的“海军常规打击”项目和陆军的“远程高超声速武器”（LRHW）项目。而美国空军计划对DARPA的HAWC项目进行改进，试图将超燃冲压发动机技术从试验状态转变为可作战状态。

To be sure, each of the weapons in the Pentagon’s hypersonic weapons portfolio face challenges. The Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) seeks to build a common airframe with intermediate range that can be launched from a submarine under the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program and a mobile ground launcher under the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) program. The Air Force’s planned operational follow-on to DARPA’s HAWC program will attempt to transition scramjet propulsion from experimental to operational status.

C-HGB和HAWC都是基于已进行成功飞行测试的项目建立的，如空军在2013年成功测试了使用超燃冲压发动机的X-51A验证机，最高速度达Ma 5.1，飞行时间210秒。而C-HGB是“陆军先进高超声速武器”（AHW）的派生产品，AHW本身是基于桑迪亚（Sandia）有翼再入飞行器发展而来。

The C-HGB and HAWC programs, however, are building on successful flight experiments. The Air Force successfully tested the scramjet-powered Boeing X-51A in 2013, flying for 210 sec. and achieving a top speed of Mach 5.1. The C-HGB is a derivative of the Army’s Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW), which itself was based on the Sandia Winged Energetic Reentry Vehicle Experiment.

桑迪亚飞行器在1979-1983年间成功完成了3次飞行，美国陆军于2006年恢复了该项目，并于2011年成功对AHW进行了测试，但由于助推器故障导致在2014年的测试失败。后来美国海军对AHW进行了改进，使之适用于在舰艇上发射，并于2017年测试成功。在2020年3月，从AHW发展而来的C-HGB的Block 0批次试验飞行器完成了一次成功的飞行，使陆军和海军可以继续开发Block 1版本的C-HGB飞行器。

The latter completed three successful flights from 1979-83. The Army revived the project in 2006, leading to a successful test of the AHW in 2011 and a failed test in 2014 due to a booster malfunction. The Navy adapted the AHW for ship launching and staged another successful test in 2017. Three years later, this past March, the Block 0 version of the C-HGB completed another successful flight, allowing the Army and Navy to proceed with developing a Block 1 All-Up Round.

相比之下，TBG和ARRW项目或其前身都没有成功的飞行测试记录，虽然这些空射飞行器与C-HGB同样都采用火箭助推滑翔的配置，但它们还是有一个关键的区别。C-HGB是基于双锥轴型对称设计，在飞行过程中会绕其轴旋转以散发热量。但 TBG和ARRW的设计是技术更先进的楔形滑翔体，结果就是C-HGB的升阻比约为2.4~2.6，而TBG和ARRW的升组比预计将达到3.0~3.3。

By contrast, TBG and ARRW have no experimental flight test record to build upon. Although these air-launched missiles share the rocket-boosted glider configuration of the C-HGB, there is a crucial difference. The C-HGB is based on a biconical, axisymmetric design, which rotates on its axis during flight to dissipate heat. The designs for TBG and ARRW are more advanced wedge-shape gliders. Whereas the C-HGB achieves a lift-to-drag ratio of about 2.4-2.6, TBG and ARRW are expected to fall into the 3.0-3.3 range.

而历史上唯一有记录的、尝试以类似于ARRW的高升阻比高超声速滑翔器以失败告终：在2010年和2011年的两次飞行中，DARPA的“高超声速测试飞行器”-2（HTV-2）虽然都成功地与助推器分离，但后来都出现故障导致飞行器失控，机载飞行终止系统则向飞行器下达了自毁的指令。

The only recorded attempt to test a hypersonic glider with a lift-to-drag ratio as high as ARRW ended in failure. During two flights staged in 2010 and 2011, DARPA’s Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV)-2 successfully separated from the booster, but the onboard flight-termination system commanded both gliders to self-destruct after they lost control.

DARPA本来希望通过HTV-2展示出具有终级性能的全球范围内的高超声速武器，但相比之下，陆军的AHW项目的技术显得相对适中。根据美国桑迪亚国家实验室（Sandia National Laboratories）2014年的分析，AHW旨在展示最高速度为Ma 8、目标射程为5600~5000km，且具备跨度达1900~2700km的横向机动能力。而DARPA为HTV-2设定的目标速度比Ma 20更快，目标射程为16000km，横向机动跨度达5300km，且精度不超过3m。

With HTV-2, DARPA sought to demonstrate a global hypersonic weapon with ultimate performance. By comparison, the Army’s axisymmetric AHW seems modest. The AHW was designed to demonstrate a maximum speed of Mach 8 and a range to target of 3,500-5,000 mi., including a cross-range capability of 1,200-1,700 mi., according to a 2014 analysis by Sandia National Laboratories, the manufacturer of the glide vehicle. DARPA set a goal for the HTV-2 to fly faster than Mach 20, with a range to target of 10,000 mi., a cross-range capability of 3,300 mi. and an accuracy of 10 ft. or less.

以这样的速度，HTV-2的机体需要长时间承受1926℃的高温，这需要使用昂贵的材料。虽然DARPA并未公开HTV-2的尺寸，但是从其助推器的设备舱尺寸可以推测，HTV-2的长度不超过127~152mm。

At those speeds, the HTV-2 would have glided for an extended period inside a ball of flame up to 3,500F, requiring the use of expensive materials. DARPA never released the dimensions for the HTV-2, but internal dimensions of the launcher’s payload assembly limit its length to no greater than 50-60 in.

在HTV-2第二次测试失败的三年后，DARPA启动了TBG项目，再次演示具有高升阻比特征的滑翔飞行器，但具备更紧凑的外型和有所下降的总体性能需求。到2016年，DARPA选择洛克希德公司在2019年前制造首批TBG飞行器。与此同时，包括其时任副局长Steven Walker在内的DARPA官方都劝告空军在等到TBG首次成功飞行后，再着手开发高超声速空射导弹。

Three years after the second failed HTV-2 test, DARPA launched the TBG program to demonstrate a glide vehicle with a similarly high lift-to-drag ratio but sought a more compact form factor for the all-up round with less overall performance. By 2016, DARPA selected Lockheed to demonstrate the first TBG flight by 2019. At the same time, DARPA officials, including then-Deputy Director Steven Walker, counseled the Air Force to wait until after the first flight of TBG before launching the development of an operational air-launched missile.

然而在Walker的建议后7个月，美国空军表示“不能再继续等待下去了”，所以时任美国空军代理部长Disbrow在2017年5月决定推进ARRW项目。

The Air Force decided seven months after Walker’s warning that it could not wait any longer, leading to Disbrow’s go-ahead decision for the ARRW in May 2017.

五角大楼研究与工程部高超声速计划主管Mike White表示，“我认为人们低估了空军这一决定的重要性。对于高超声速领域，我们一直都处于‘研发’阶段，而在空军在2017年的决定体现出他们是第一个提出‘我们需要高超声速武器’的部队。”

“I think people underestimate the importance of this decision of the Air Force,” says Mike White, director of hypersonic programs for the Pentagon’s research and engineering branch.“For the hypersonic community, we’ve always been kind of stuck in the [research and development] realm,” White says. “The Air Force, in 2017, [was] the first service that said, ‘Hey, we want hypersonic weapons.’”

相比之下，美国陆军和海军花了更长的时间决定将AHW武器化，但其技术发展的幅度不大。 2017年11月，海军成功完成了对AHW的飞行测试，当时AHW进行了改进，称为FE-1，可以从潜艇或军舰上发射。后来陆军和海军达成协议，将AHW转换为C-HGB项目供双方的LRHW和CPS系统使用，C-HGB将采用直径约88cm的两级助推器。而空军的HCSW也曾计划采用C-HGB，但只配置了直径81cm的单级助推器。

The Army and Navy took longer to decide to weaponize AHW but not by much. In November 2017, the Navy completed a successful flight test of an AHW modified to be launched from a submarine or ship in Flight Experiment-1. The Army and Navy agreed on a plan to convert AHW into the C-HGB for LRHW and CPS with a two-stage, 34.5-in. booster stack. The Air Force’s short-lived HCSW also planned to use the C-HGB but with a 32-in., single-stage booster.

对此White表示，在FE-1试飞之后，他们对高超声速武器的关注达到顶峰，然后就对高超声速技术的武器化进展产生了巨大兴趣。

“Once we flew the FE-1, the interest started to peak,” White says. “Then we got service interest in transitioning [experimental hypersonic technology into operational weapons].”

对ARRW和C-HGB的研究也推进了一系列新型助推火箭的开发。当这些高超声速武器部署之时，将不再采用AHW和HTV-2的助推器（它们分别采用“北极星”弹道导弹和“和平卫士”弹道导弹的火箭发动机）。目前对新型助推器的尺寸和性能知之甚少，但White证实C-HGB的助推器是直径约88cm的两级火箭，而用于ARRW的单级火箭助推器尺寸更小。

The green light to begin developing the ARRW and C-HGB front ends also launched the development of a family of new booster rockets. To field operational weapons, services could no longer rely on the hand-me-down booster rockets employed for the Army’s AHW and DARPA’s HTV-2, which used derivatives of a retired Polaris missile and a Peacekeeper missile, respectively. Less is known about the size and performance of the boosters, but White confirmed a 34.5-in.-dia., two-stage booster stack for the C-HGB. The diameter of the single-stage rocket for ARRW has not been released, but it is smaller.

White认为，当进行技术研究时，高超声速飞行器可以采用现成的火箭作为助推器，但如果将其作为武器部署，那么必须与发射平台进行集成，也就必须采用新的助推器，以在发射平台的重量和体积限制内发挥最佳性能。飞机的挂载能力已成为限制高超声速武器大小的关键要素。目前HCSW的取消释放了部分资金，可以弥补ARRW项目的财政超支，并使HAWC作战原型的开发得以启动；但取消了HCSW也反映出空军已放弃部署更大的高超声速武器。

 “When you live in the technology world, you can kind of pick and choose boosters that are off the shelf,” White says. “But when it comes to fielding a real weapon, you have to integrate with launch platforms. You would like to maximize performance within the weight and volume constraints of the launch platform.”The load-out volume for an aircraft has emerged as a key issue. The HCSW cancellation freed up funds to cover the fiscal overrun on ARRW and launch the development of an operational prototype of HAWC, but the decision also reflected a move by the Air Force away from larger hypersonic weapons.

HCSW的重量约5.4吨，其前端载荷的重量约为10％，所以作为武器必须要考虑能在B-52这样的发射平台上面挂多大的装备。

 “HCSW weighs 12,000 lb. and the front end is about 10% of that,” White says. “So you have to figure out, OK, what can I fit on a B-52?”

显然对于飞机平台挂载来说，HCSW有些过大，而且较小的ARRW可以为空军的发射平台提供更大的灵活性，同时其弹道特性与HCSW相当。美国空军计划在每架B-1B轰炸机的外部挂载6枚AGM-183A，而空军甚至希望其能够从更小的战术飞机（如F-15EX）上面发射。2020年2月，波音提供了有关F-15E武器装卸极限的数据，当时在一个空战专题讨论会上展示了挂在F-15EX机腹中心挂架上的一个高超声速导弹模型，据推测其真实的导弹规格为长6.85m，重3300kg。

For HCSW, the answer was “not enough.” But the smaller ARRW offers more flexibility for the Air Force’s launch platforms while providing the similar trajectory options for a rocket-boosted glide vehicle. The Air Force plans to install six AGM-183As externally on each B-1B bomber, and service officials hope to keep it small enough to launch from a fighter, such as a Boeing F-15EX. In February, Boeing provided a clue about the limits of the F-15E’s weapons load-out. A model of the F-15EX displayed at the Air Warfare Symposium included a surrogate hypersonic all-up round on the centerline weapon station, with a length of 270 in. and a mass of 7,300 lb.

目前，五角大楼的空射高超声速武器大多数还停留在模型和渲染图阶段，达到挂载测试的项目几乎难得一见。在2020年3月FE-2阶段飞行测试成功进行，表明陆军的LRHW有望按计划在2023年开始服役，其次海军的CPS将在2025年服役。空军的项目接下来要进入飞行测试阶段，包括火箭助推的TBG项目和超燃冲压发动机的HAWC项目都计划在今年进行飞行测试。

Models, renderings and rare glimpses of captive-carry tests remain the only sightings of the Pentagon’s air-launched hypersonic weapons portfolio. The successful Flight Experiment-2 staged in March shows the Army’s LRHW is on track to enter service as scheduled in 2023, followed by the Navy’s CPS in 2025. The Air Force’s turn to enter the flight-test phase is next, with the delayed rocket-boosted TBG and scramjet-powered HAWC launches still planned for this year.

国防部现代化研究与发展部主任Mark Lewis在3月的新闻发布会上对记者表示，“我们非常有信心，虽然这些项目仍然在发展当中，但我们有信心这些武器能够按预期的时间表执行任务。“

 “We’re really very confident,” Lewis told reporters during a March news conference. I don’t want to misrepresent the fact there’s still development underway. But we have tremendous confidence in the ability of this technology to perform as expected.”

TBG/ARRW项目的时间表

 

目前研发中最先进的空射高超声速武器是DARPA的TBG项目和空军的ARRW项目。

2014年3月：DARPA启动了TBG计划。

2014年9-11月：DARPA向波音、洛克希德·马丁和雷神公司授予TBG 1A阶段合同。

2016年4-5月：DARPA淘汰了波音公司，将TBG 1B阶段合同授予洛克希德公司和雷神公司。

2016年5月9日：DARPA淘汰了雷神公司，选择洛克希德作为TBG第2阶段合同，。

2017年5月3日：空军批准了TBG衍生的ARRW项目。

2018年8月13日：空军选择洛克希德公司开发ARRW的型号化，称为AGM-183A。

2019年3月：DARPA选择雷神公司开发第二款TBG演示飞行器。

2019年3月：空军取消了HCSW项目，其资金用以填补ARRW高达39%的成本超支。

2019年6月：空军对洛克希德TBG/ARRW项目进行了首次挂载测试。

2020年：DARPA计划在2020年进行首次TBG飞行测试。

2021年10月：空军希望对AGM-183A进行规划中四次飞行测试中的第一次

 

Tactical Boost Glide/Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon Timeline

The most advanced, air-launched hypersonic weapon in development currently is a joint effort between the DARPA’s Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) and the Air Force’s Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW).

March 2014: DARPA launches Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) program.

Sept.-Nov. 2014: DARPA awards TBG Phase 1a contracts to Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

April-May 2016: DARPA eliminates Boeing from TBG competition, awards Phase 1b contracts to Lockheed and Raytheon.

May 9, 2016: DARPA selects Lockheed for the TBG Phase 2 contract, eliminating Raytheon.

May 3, 2017: U.S. Air Force approves requirement for TBG-derived Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW).

Aug. 13, 2018: Air Force selects Lockheed to develop AGM-183A ARRW.

March 2019: DARPA selects Raytheon to develop second TBG demonstrator.

March 2019: Air Force cancels Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, diverts funding to cover new, 39% ARRW cost overrun.

June 2019: Air Force performs first captive-carry test of Lockheed TBG/ARRW all-up round.

2020: DARPA plans first TBG flight test in 2020.

Oct. 2021: Air Force expects first of four flight tests of AGM-183A ARRW.

Timeline Source: Aviation Week Research

这条消息是Steve Trimble在 Aviation Week & Space Technology 发表的文章。您可以点击此处查看更多关于高超音速的文章。