>1:1 Mockup of in-development MBDA AQUILA, European Air Defence missile with hypersonic and endo-atmospheric capability. MBDA will develop the AQUILA concept for the EU Defense Fund, supported by the Hypersonic Defense Interceptor project, aimed to develop a European hypersonic defense system.
Looks like it will have 3 stages, with a contact (?) warhead for the final approach.
They also demonstrated some kind of swarming smart missile called Orchestrike, no idea if they are getting any EU funds for that though. This would be combined with sacrificial remote carriers and other drones/loitering munitions to breach enemy air defenses more effectively.
>collaborative functions and pack tactics "developed" by MBDA internally
aka we put the Brimstone programming on it
>not dumping the third stage is an interesting design choice
for last second manoeuvres perhaps?
You always want less dry mass in your terminal stage when you're in space so that seemingly unitary third stage is not really the norm, but looking at it again I think it's meant to provide continuous thrust up to impact since it's endoatmospheric when it goes terminal compared to your usual ABM stuff which is typically exoatmospheric. Dumps the earlier stages to climb while it retains that last stage for thrust and mass to improve glide range.
what I figure is that hypersonics are now so fricking fast and manoeuvrable that interceptors just can't afford not to have powered flight all the way to impact
Too little too late, Diehl won the bid for EU meme sonic interceptor project already
Translation? The Aquila seems to be a DE-FR-IT-NL project, maybe they are developing two solutions.
https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-07/Factsheet_EDF21_EU%20HYDEF.pdf
It seems they are both competing for this contract then maybe.
Aquila is an Mbda frog project exclusively iirc
>Aquila is an Mbda frog
Why the Italian name then?
>Hyperschallwaffen
Should've used the english name.
MBDA needs to hire better promotional material creators, I mean frick Raytheon's SM-3 promo from a decade back is so much better https://youtu.be/ae5VmVwfWmk
They get bonus points from using actual sounds from testing their KKV in the promo too.
Anyways, not dumping the third stage is an interesting design choice.
Airbus ones are good.
*US upgrades patriot*
*mogs MBDA hypersonic intercepter*
>an
ayypersonic.
Another interesting aspect of the promo is the trajectory, seems to have a small loft to take full advantage of the fuel in the booster stages but then it drops down to be ~coaltitude with the HGV, presumably because you don't know when it's going to dive so better that you are co-altitude and waste some energy than it diving away from you.
That isn’t interesting at all
Well you're not interesting at all either 🙁
Most efficient trajectory would be an arcing path, you spend more time in thinner air and you get back a good chunk of the energy you spend getting up there while falling down towards the target, this is used in many modern A2A missiles etc. to extend range and increase the final velocity (because it helps make the intercept easier). They chose instead to go straight through the atmosphere at the target because if the target starts diving you have to chase after it instead of going head on, which makes the intercept more difficult.
but what does
>drops down to be ~coaltitude with the HGV
mean?
It means it flies at the same level as the target rather than arc above it.
right. I thought it was the opposite, because
>drops down
well I don't get it, eli5 please?
Too late, the patriot already does it.