CANADIAN CAN UNCLASSIFIED ARMED FORCES ASSISTANT DEPUTY MINISTER (DEFENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CANADA) FORCES ARMÉES Emerging technology snapshot CANADIENNES Countermeasures against Hypersonic Weapons Hypersonic weapons (including cruise missiles, glide and boost-glide vehicles) travel at Mach 5 or higher, retain a degree of in-flight maneuverability and follow lower-altitude, difficult-to-track trajectories, all of which make intercepting these weapons much harder than with ballistic missiles. Research on countermeasures to hypersonic weapons include high-power lasers and microwave weapons, railguns and hypersonic interceptors, along with ‘soft-kill’ weapons like cyberattacks to confuse, overload or disable critical subsys- tems, such as receivers for satellite navigation signals or controllers for flight surfaces. Enabling Science and Technology High-power lasers Artificial Intelligence (AI) Decision support systems High-power lasers can be used to AI is a key emerging technology in The speed of hypersonic weapons disable a hypersonic weapon hypersonic weapon countermeasures, greatly reduces the time available to through a direct hit, by heating being used for tasks including assess a situ ation, consider options and disrupting the high-speed detecting a weapon’s launch, running and deploy countermeasure(s). Decision airflows (boundary layers) around simulations to recommend the best support systems provide a single system the vehicle, as well as by blinding countermeasure(s), determining the that combines a priori information, (or ‘dazzling’) sensors used to best intercept path and controlling established decision frameworks and navigate towards its target. interception of the hypersonic real-time data to assess threats and weapon with the countermeasure(s). choose the best countermeasure(s). Satellite imaging and navigation Due to their high speed and Cyber-based countermeasures “People think of hypersonics as a low-altitude trajectories, satellite Targeted cyberattacks (like thing … [but] it’s a capability to imaging (including optical, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) deliver a wide range of effects to the microwave or radar sensing) is attacks) can exploit weaknesses in the battlefield to allow defeat of deep critical to early launch detection software controlling a hypersonic inland targets … maritime targets, and ongoing tracking of hyper- vehicle’s flight or navigation so as to costal targets, heavily defended sonic weapons in flight. Reliance confuse, overload or otherwise targets, and targets on the move.” on global navi gation satellite shut-down these systems while a Mike White, Principal Director for systems (GNSS) can also be used weapon is on route to its target. Hypersonics, Office of the Undersecretary against a hyper sonic weapon by Cyberattacks can also be used to of Defense for Research & Engineering. ‘spoofing’ fake GNSS signals that disable supporting infrastructure, Hypersonic Strike & Defense: A Conversation falsely tell it that it is headed the such as land-, sea- or air-based with Mike White, June 2, 2021 wrong way. launch platforms. CAN UNCLASSIFIED esnefeD fo tnemtrapeD SU :tiderC CAN UNCLASSIFIED Signals Academic Collaboration Corporate Research into countermea- European research Industrial research into hyper- sures against hypersonic into hypersonic weapon sonic weapon counterm easures weapons is dominated countermeasures is tend to be by large US-based by Chinese and American largely organized through military contractors (e.g., organizations, which respectively Res earch and Technology Organiz a- Lockheed Martin), but Ottawa’s ATA account for 51% and 21% of papers tions (e.g., France’s CNRS) that help Engineering has also received USAF published between 2017 and 2022. co-ordinate research efforts. and MDA research funding. Canada is ranked 11th with 44 publications during this period. Defence “I do not have a 300-kilowatt laser Defence-related today. … I can tell you that if we Government organizations are heavily can persist for 5-6 years, we can National governments involved with research have that laser. … If we persist a few support research into in hypersonic weapons [more] years, I can have the laser that hypersonic weapon and countermeasures. According goes on an Army combat vehicle.” countermeasures either to publicly-available information, directly through military research the US Air Force (USAF), Navy and Dr. Michael Griffin, Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering. (e.g., USA) or indirectly via research Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are US Senate Armed Services Committee and development (R&D) funding among the largest funding bodies on Accelerating New Technologies to (e.g., Canada, Europe). supporting this research. Meet Emerging Threats, April 18, 2018. Impact Social “I put it [hypersonics] in the same The Department of Defense (DoD) set up a Joint Hypersonics category as when we developed Transition Office (JHTO) in 2020, whose tasks include developing stealth capabilities … With stealth, a skilled workforce to support future hypersonic R&D through a our systems were invisible to radar. university consortium. With hypersonics, our systems are perhaps visible, but they’re harder Policy to stop, and that’s the advantage Neither hypersonic weapons nor their countermeasures are covered that they bring to the battlefield.” by existing Arms Control treaties on ballistic missiles, and it is uncer- Dr. Mark Lewis, Director of Defense tain whether future arms control agreements will include these weapons. Research and Engineering for Modernization, “Department of Defense Press Briefing on Hypersonics.” March 2, 2020. Economic Funding for hypersonic offence far exceeds that for hypersonic defense: a congressional report noted that the DoD requested Contact $4.7 billion for hypersonic weapons programs in Fiscal Year 2023, [email protected] but only $225.5 million for hypersonic defense programs during Please provide feedback the same period. Produced in partnership by the National Research Council of Canada and Defence Research and Development Canada. Environmental Derived from: Satisfying the energy needs of directed-energy countermeasures Soles, J. Scientometric Study on Hypersonic Weapon (e.g., high-power lasers) could also spur improvements in Countermeasures, September 2022. high-capacity, grid-level battery storage for renewable power. February 2023 · Également disponible en français April 2022 · Également disponible en français Defence © His Majesty the King Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of National Defence, 2023 The need to counter hypersonic weapons may shift the US’ approach to strategic deterrence away from its large nuclear arsenal towards Cat. No.: D69-71/2023E-PDF ISBN: 978-0-660-49782-2 smaller-scale national or regional ballistic missile defence. CAN UNCLASSIFIED