A target vehicle able to replicate threats travelling at more than five times the speed of sound is being built under Project Bowline, with a live flight demonstration planned at the MOD Hebrides Range in 2027, according to an answer given in Parliament.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative member for Huntingdon, asked the Secretary of State to set out the full requirements of the hypersonic target to be delivered under the project.
Luke Pollard, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence, said: “Project Bowline is delivering a hypersonic target capability to support the development, evaluation and testing of missile defence systems against advanced threats. The programme will design, manufacture, qualify and test a target vehicle capable of replicating emerging high-speed threats travelling at speeds in excess of Mach 5.
“The capability will provide a realistic test environment for missile defence research, development and experimentation, supporting the United Kingdom’s contribution to allied air and missile defence. A live flight demonstration of the capability is planned at the MOD Hebrides Range in 2027.
“Details of the full technical requirements are commercially and operationally sensitive and therefore will not be released.”
Testing an interceptor against a realistic hypersonic threat requires something to shoot at, and few countries have one. A target that flies above Mach 5 lets designers prove tracking, discrimination and engagement against the kind of manoeuvring, high-speed object that current air defence radars and effectors were not built to handle.
The choice of the Hebrides range is of course coupled with an announcement made this week, when Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard signed an agreement with QinetiQ at the site covering the first design stage of a multimillion-pound investment to develop it for the testing of hypersonic missiles and other advanced technologies. That work was announced as part of Project Safari, the joint Ministry of Defence and QinetiQ programme opening test and evaluation facilities to smaller companies.
