It’s interesting that Russia is dusting off a 30 year old missile design (the 3M-25 Meteorit, pics are at the end, the first picture is a testbed) that was canceled 30 years ago.
Part of this, when justaposed with the hypersonic testbed, is to show Russian capabilities, but I believe that there is a more direct market that they are addressing, a missile that can credibly threaten a US Carrier Battle Group, particularly the Carrier itself.
With a weight of over 10 tons, and speed and altitude in excess of mach 3 and 20,000 meters, even a few of these, if launched, could inflict serious damage on any ship out there.
Given technological advances, and the fact that a 4000km range would not be needed for attacking carrier battle groups off a country’s shores, I could see a derivative coming in at less than 5 tons.
Russia Rekindles High-speed Cruise Weapons Interest (Paid Subscription Required)
Aviation Week & Space Technology
10/08/2007, page 60Douglas Barrie
LondonPrinted headline: Speed Metal
Russia dusted off and declassified an almost 30-year-old missile design for display—the 3M-25 Meteorit supersonic strategic cruise missile—at the recent Moscow air show (MAKS). But why present a program canceled in the early 1990s?
NPO Mashinostroenia’s Meteorit (Meteorite) program had been intended to develop a “universal” cruise missile for air, surface and submarine launch. The turbojet-powered weapon would cruise at 75,000 ft. beyond Mach 3.
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On display as well at MAKS was a mock-up of the Central Aero-hydrodynamics Institute’s (TsAGI) GLL-AP-02 hypersonic “flying testbed” (shown). This is a notional Mach 6 air vehicle, to fly at 70,000 ft., powered by a Central Institute of Aviation Motors scramjet. TsAGI is looking at potential weapon applications of hypersonic air vehicles.
Here are the pics of the Meteorit