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There is a 4th kind of hypersonic missile: Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) > rocket launched into orbital flight, which later re-entered the atmos
by dist-epoch 3y ago
There is a 4th kind of hypersonic missile: Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS)
> rocket launched into orbital flight, which later re-entered the atmosphere and released a maneuverable glide vehicle travelling at hypersonic speeds
https://www.apln.network/analysis/policy-briefs/chinese-fractional-orbital-bombardment https://www.apln.network/analysis/policy-briefs/chinese-frac...
- JumpCrisscross 3y agoI'm still failing to see the difference between this and MIRVs. (But with fins!)
- George83728 3y agoFOBS has a much lower apogee for the same range, meaning it stays below the horizon longer (giving less time to intercept it.) https://stateofthenation.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FOBS-OrbitDiagram.jpg https://stateofthenation.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FOBS-... Furthermore, it can in principle come from any direction, which was relevant historically when it was expected that Soviet ICBMs would come over the North Pole.
- dragonwriter 3y agoIf they are actually glide vehicles these are exactly the hypersonic glide weapons discussed above, if thy “glide” part is an exaggeration, they are just classic ballistic missiles with maneuverable attack vehicles (MARVs), which are widely used, they aren’t, in any case, outside of the three categories presented.
- dist-epoch 3y agoThe glide part would be in the three categories above, but not the whole system, which has extra capabilities (unlimited loitering time for example).