3 ms·

These maneuvers are in the terminal phase. Knowing the reaction speed and the moment at which LOS is achieved as well as estimating the speed of the missile and

These maneuvers are in the terminal phase. Knowing the reaction speed and the moment at which LOS is achieved as well as estimating the speed of the missile and it's acceleration one can calculate a relatively short period under which interception is possible. Outside of that there is basically no risk and thus no need for any maneuvers. As for flight envelope we know from the X-15 that not that much is required to pull 10Gs at hypersonic speeds. There is no need for much more.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> maneuvers are in the terminal phase One, this leaves the missile, which is screaming through the atmosphere, vulnerable in a way ballistics are not. (And visible in a way cruise missiles aren’t, either.) Two, if you have a carrier strike group in the middle of the ocean, this strongly restricts how much manoeuvring can be done. The target knows where you’re ultimately headed—if you tactfully manoeuvre into a blank patch of ocean, the strike group is fine. > flight envelope we know from the X-15 that not that much is required to pull 10Gs at hypersonic speeds The flight envelope restriction isn’t a structural one. If you have a known target, there is only so much manoeuvring the vehicle can aerodynamically do without slowing down to sub-scram speeds. Yes, you could supercharge the engine, but that cascades through another host of factors.
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  By the time that you're close enough to the strike group that you have a serious risk of seriously missing, it's already too late for the faster interceptors to be effective. As far as only so much maneuvering you can do before being too slow for the engine, yes that's probably an issue for the HAWC, but scramjet missiles have been demonstrated to achieve Mach 9 in atmospheric flight which allows a lot of energy to bled out before you drop out below Mach 4.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago

> maneuvers are in the terminal phase One, this leaves the missile, which is screaming through the atmosphere, vulnerable in a way ballistics are not. (And visible in a way cruise missiles aren’t, either.) Two, if you have a carrier strike group in the middle of the ocean, this strongly restricts how much manoeuvring can be done. The target knows where you’re ultimately headed—if you tactfully manoeuvre into a blank patch of ocean, the strike group is fine. > flight envelope we know from the X-15 that not that much is required to pull 10Gs at hypersonic speeds The flight envelope restriction isn’t a structural one. If you have a known target, there is only so much manoeuvring the vehicle can aerodynamically do without slowing down to sub-scram speeds. Yes, you could supercharge the engine, but that cascades through another host of factors.

sudosysgen 5y ago
By the time that you're close enough to the strike group that you have a serious risk of seriously missing, it's already too late for the faster interceptors to be effective. As far as only so much maneuvering you can do before being too slow for the engine, yes that's probably an issue for the HAWC, but scramjet missiles have been demonstrated to achieve Mach 9 in atmospheric flight which allows a lot of energy to bled out before you drop out below Mach 4.