In the US, new missiles designed to strike even hypersonic missiles have been presented
The US company Anduril has unveiled the Steelfin family of interceptor missiles for air and missile defense missions. The company aims to adapt them against various threats and produce them in large volumes at a relatively low cost. The price and detailed technical specifications of the missiles have not yet been disclosed.
New missiles designed to shoot down even hypersonic missiles have been unveiled in the US. This approach is expected to allow the adaptation of an existing design rather than creating an entirely new missile for each mission.
The presentation took place at a time when the US armed forces are seeking to increase their inventory of air defense capabilities against threats ranging from cheap drones to cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles.
The Steelfin family relies on a single two-stage design. The first stage consists of a booster block, while the second consists of an interceptor section intended to directly destroy the target.
In various configurations, it is planned to use common core airframe structures, onboard electronics, software, flight control systems, and connection interfaces. By swapping the booster blocks and second-stage components, the missile is adapted to a specific mission.
According to Anduril, the family will include both hit-to-kill interceptors and variants equipped with high-explosive fragmentation warheads.
Through Steelfin, the company aims to cover missions ranging from protecting point targets to lower-tier air and missile defense, as well as upper-tier ballistic missile interception. Intended targets also include cruise and hypersonic missiles.
However, it has not yet been specified which modification will be used against which exact threat. Intercept range, operational altitude, and other metrics that would help evaluate the announced capabilities have also not been provided.
Anduril stated that it has been working on Steelfin for several years with the financial participation of multiple customers. The company has conducted ballistic tests using program-specific mockups and simulated hardware.
Flight tests for various Steelfin variants are scheduled for 2027.