Diffusion of High-Speed Cruise Missiles in Asia: Strategic and Operational Implications

Abstract

In the last twenty years, sub-sonic cruise missiles emerged as a coercive political tool and a versatile military weapon, which propelled several countries to develop these weapon systems. However, the increasingly deployment of active-counter measures and passive defences along with emergence of new operational requirements have intensified efforts in the direction of high-speed cruise missiles—powered by supersonic and hypersonic propulsions. This policy brief evaluates the operational utility and technological feasibility of developing high-speed air-breathing propulsion systems for land-attack cruise missile (LACM). The policy brief concludes that due to technological factors and operational opportunities offered by supersonics, over this decade LACM powered by supersonic engines would increasingly become an attractive option and feasible complement for the existing systems involved in generating firepower.

About the Author

Kalyan M. Kemburi is an Associate Research Fellow with the Military Transformations Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He has previously worked with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (California) and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (New York). Along with Li Mingjiang from RSIS, Kalyan has recently published two edited volumes with Routledge (2014): New Dynamics in US-China Relations: Contending for the Asia-Pacific and China’s Power and Asian Security.