Imagine a world where swarms of drones can intercept hypersonic missiles, turning the speed of these deadly weapons against themselves. It sounds like science fiction, but it's the core concept behind a new patent from Art Silver, who currently serves as the base civil engineer for 192nd Wing of the Virginia Air National Guard at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.
“What I envisioned is these firework shows they now do with drones,” said Silver, a Navy veteran. “Basically, you would flip a switch. These drones would take off from the ground and they would form up this defensive cube or sphere.
“You have a pretty good idea where the missiles are going. They’re going toward the city. They're going toward a military asset or whatnot. When you get the alert, somebody flips the switch and the drones form up.”
The patent, titled Hypersonic Missile Defense System, is part of a family of patents linked to anti-missile systems. The system is a carrier drone-based defense platform that cuts the potency of hypersonic missiles by turning their speed into a liability. The drones carry reactive globule spheres that bring about destructive effects to the missiles. Effects can include cryogenic freezing, inducing flight instability and electrostatic deceleration.
Upon impact with a drone or drones, a chain reaction is initiated in which fission balls and metal-materials are released to create a dense, anti-aircraft flak-like cloud. These meta-materials attaching to the missile generate destructive effects, primarily a rapid change in aerodynamics causing tumbling. Alternate effects include reducing kinetic energy through suffocation of air-breathing components, deceleration via electrostatic repulsion using charged capacitors within the globules, and mass reduction through a freezing process that embrittles the missile.
“It can be active and passive, but it attacks every phase of the weapons trajectory,” Silver said. “Let's say it is rocket launched. You can have a satellite that sits over the rocket and drops these globules. Let's say it is airplane launched. These globules will gunk up an airplane engine. And then there's also what's called a scramjet. They're air-breathing missiles, and this would gunk that up. And then, finally, it will attack the warhead itself.”
A significant advantage of the system Silver put forward is its reaction to the speed of a hypersonic missile.
“The faster the warhead goes, the better the system works because it has these steel or tungsten balls in it,” said Silver, who got his first patent with this system. “The faster it goes, the faster the first globule's going to break. It's really like nuclear fission on a reactor, because the faster it collides, the more those globules burst, the more harmful effects can impart upon that warhead.”
Ideally, the system will be tied in with a detection-radar system, so as soon as a missile is detected the system activates. Silver had envisioned the system would be sitting in a field, inside a hangar or a rooftop. He said it could also exist on the flight deck of a ship.
“It can also compliment another defense system,” Silver said. “You want to shoot the thing down with the interceptor. What if you miss?
“This can be a supplement, or it gets out in front of it, it slows down the hypersonic missile enough that now buys you time. Now the missile interceptor has a better chance. It would complement what we have.”
Silver sees the system protecting cities, military bases and deployed assets. He also sees it possibly being integrated into the future Golden Dome Missile Defense System, a next-generation defense system against missile attacks in the U.S.
“It’s obvious a real-world threat right now,” Silver said. “I wanted to do something to protect my country, and I consider myself a civilian airman. It was something exciting I could do for my Air Force to make a tool available.”
And it’s probably going to be a bit safer for everyone.
“It's not an explosive, whereas, if you drop the explosive from a drone, it will blow up and cause a lot of problems,” Silver said. “If you drop this globule, it will probably splatter. You might get injured by one of the balls coming loose or you might get a liquid nitrogen burn, but it is more stable.”
In a final assessment of the defense system Silver put forth, he says “if it flies, it dies!”
United States Patent Office Patent: #12, 117, 27, B1
Patent License Agreements are offered through the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Technology Transfer and Transition (T3) program office. A comprehensive suite of T3 mechanisms for partnering with industry and academia is offered through the office. To find out how you can partner with the T3 Program, please visit https://www.aft3.af.mil. TechLink assists the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs by actively marketing its available patented technologies to prospective companies and facilitating license agreements.