By Andrew Koch, JDW Bureau Chief, Washington DC and Nick Cook, JDW Aerospace Consultant, London

The USA, joined it hopes shortly by the UK, plans to begin a research and development programme to look at a new land-attack supersonic cruise missile (SSCM) that could help strike time-critical targets and ones buried underground.

The programme, which is an advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) being sponsored by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the US Navy (USN), will explore development of a cruise missile capable of carrying a 200 lb (90.7kg) payload at least 400nm and preferably 600nm. The missile will have a speed of M3.5 with a goal of M4.5 and a circular error of probability (CEP) accuracy of 3m, the DTRA said in a request for information (RfI).

The programme would commence in January 2004 and seek to have prototype test missiles plus 10 operational assets ready by the end of 2007.

To fulfil one primary mission of being able to strike hard and deeply buried targets, respondents to the RfI are asked to explore warheads that could penetrate up to 10m with a goal of 15m. US officials believed that supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles offer promise to overcome the hardened-target challenge.

Although the ACTD is still being defined, it will explore whether the missile can come in several variants and be fired from a number of platforms including strike aircraft, bombers, surface ships, and submarines.

For the air-launched variant, to be fired from USN F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, and possibly US Air Force B-1 and B-52 strategic bombers, the maximum launch weight is 2,000 lb.

UK participation in the programme could well look at such applications. According to a UK Ministry of Defence official, SSCM could be a technology building block for a number of future cruise missile programmes, including those associated with the Future Offensive Air System, a multi-platform/weapon system replacement for the Tornado GR4 strike aircraft.