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| Here's the Greatness of China's Made in Hypersonic Missiles |
International Military - In January this year, Chinese scientists claimed that they had succeeded in producing a new generation of hypersonic missiles. They even say that the advanced technology in it, namely infrared trackers, is unlikely to be in the possession of the US military until 2035.
Experts in China also commented on this hypersonic missile. "Almost any target can be reached, with high accuracy and speed, including stealth fighter jets, ships, even vehicles moving on the road," he said in the EurAsian Times. Even more than that, a Chinese military specialist also stated that this hypersonic missile was able to catch up to the F-22 Raptor in just seconds, quoted the South China Morning Post.
According to the US Air Force, heat-seeking (infrared) missiles accounted for more than 90 percent of aircraft crashes in the 1980s. And the F-22 Raptor can be an easy target, because the coating material easily heats up while flying. China's claim worries the US, where their hypersonic missile is still in the testing phase.
The Power of Hypersonic Missiles
According to researchers in China, the search-on missile is designed to locate, identify and lock onto targets based on their heat signatures while flying at low altitudes. The heat seeker or infrared is a passive missile guidance system that uses electromagnetic radiation in the infrared spectrum to track and follow targets. A common fault in heat-seeking missiles is “overheating”, reports the EurAsian Times.
When gliding at high speed, the surface of the missile will be so hot that the heat-seeking sensors will be "confused" in targeting the enemy. Researchers in China created a special material that is attached to the glass in front of the infrared sensor.
With this special material, it is hoped that it will reduce the heat signature on the surface of the missile so that the sensor can stay focused on the actual target.
In fact, this method has been tried before and was unsuccessful, this particular material causes considerable turbulence. Distorts the heat signal and ultimately “blinds” the infrared sensor as it did before.
The Chinese team has finally re-modified the missile with a lightweight and compact device that can produce a very cold stream of inert gas. So that when the missile travels at the speed of sound, the heat generated will not interfere with the performance of the heat seeker. They inserted 40 micro-vortex generators into the air conditioning device to create an airflow that could break up turbulence.
With this breakthrough, China claims their missiles can strike any enemy, even those with stealth capabilities. It doesn't stop there, China is also making its heat-seeking missiles "smarter" in determining targets. "Because this type of missile travels at the speed of sound, a small error in determining the target's position can result in major damage, such as missing the intended target."
They add, over long distances, the infrared signal consists of only tiny pixels without comprehensive information. In fact, under such conditions, the missile cannot identify the shape, texture and structure of the target. Makes identification and tracking very difficult.
For example, when a ground target such as a car maneuvers or turns it will add to the computational performance burden in the missile. To anticipate that, China uses motion sensor data to change every pixel. Guarantees the most of the “view” in the sensor in terms of viewing angle, illumination and size for the better.