U.S. Marine Corps eyes DARPA OpFires hypersonic missile to target enemy ships from islands in the Pacific
WASHINGTON – U.S. military researchers are teaming up with Lockheed Martin Corp. to develop a intermediate-range, ground-launched hypersonic weapon called OpFires or Operational Fires. The National Interest reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
15 June 2021 -- OpFires would mate a new variable-range hypersonic missile with mobile ground-based weapons that could attack valuable time-critical targets on land and at sea.
The project actually an important revolution in hypersonic missile design. What makes this project particularly difficult — and therefore within DARPA’s purview — is that this hypersonic rocket will be throttleable.
U.S. Marines are training to perform an extremely rapid infiltration and exfiltration on enemy-held islands in the Pacific. Once secure, Air Force transports could land and unload OpFires-equipped HIMARS long-range rocket artillery to target enemy ships.
Related: Meeting SWaP needs for electronics and sensors for hypersonic flight
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
