Europe dreams of creating a hypersonic weapon, but these dreams are eroded by intense competition and financial insufficiency.
The most promising project may be the Hypersonics company. Germany and Britain plan to jointly develop cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles capable of hitting targets more than 2,000 km away, Politico reports, citing internal German Defense Ministry documents.
As part of the Deep Precision Strike (DPS) project, London will undertake the development of the High-End cruise missile, designed to fly at low altitude and overcome radar detection. The first version is expected to be ready for use in 2032.
Germany, in turn, will develop a hypersonic weapon. The launch vehicle would have to lift the gliding warhead to a high altitude, and then head towards the target at several times the speed of sound. The Germans expect to operate this system by 2035.
As the publication notes, the project should give European armed forces the ability to strike far behind the front line without relying on American missiles.
"As for the German-led hypersonic weapon, the ministry plans to order two companies to develop competing experimental versions by 2029.
one of the companies MBDA, a well-known European rocket manufacturer. other. Hypersonics, a much smaller German-British startup. Their developments will be examined before Berlin decides on further action.
Competition can be subtle. According to an internal briefing by the German firm, MBDA fears that its younger competitor could benefit from the technical know-how gained during development and testing," notes Politico.