hypersonic glide vehicle
A hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) is a type of warhead for ballistic missiles that can maneuver and glide at hypersonic speed. It is used in conjunction with ballistic missiles to significantly change their trajectories after launch. Conventional ballistic missiles follow a predictable ballistic trajectory and are vulnerable to interception by the latest anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems.
Also recorded as HGV
hypersonic glide vehicle
United States Navy · This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 200319-N-NO101-0001 (next). This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still require · Public domain
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- hypersonic weapon · hypersonic vehicle
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Broader Term · incoming
Common-Hypersonic Glide Body
Term
https://www.army.mil/article/265349/1st_multi_domain_task_force_deploys_the_armys_first_long_range_hypersonic_weapon_system
Broader Term · incoming
Hwasong-8
Term
Broader Term · outgoing
hypersonic weapon
Term
Own work
Broader Term · incoming
Type 25 Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile
Term
https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/news/2025/02/07b.html
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q111319607 · wikipedia · Hypersonic glide vehicle
In this article
China
China
The in-flight maneuverability of HGVs makes them unpredictable, allowing them to effectively evade air defenses.
• Illustration — Chinese DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle mounted on the DF-17 ballistic missile. • DF-ZF • DF-27 • YJ-17
France
France
• V-MAX (first flight test took place on June 26, 2023, from the DGA's site in Biscarrosse and was successful). VMaX-2 (under development; first flight test expected in 2024 or 2025)
India
India
• Dhvani (under development) • LRAShM • BM-04 (under development)
Iran
Iran
• Fattah-2
Japan
Japan
• Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) (under development)
North Korea
North Korea
• Hwasong-8 • Hwasong-11E (Hwasong-11Ma, revealed in October 2025) • Hwasong-12B (not tested yet). It is possible that the Hwasong-12B was renamed from Hwasong-8. • Hwasong-16B (tested in April 2024). There have also been reports of other hypersonic glide vehicle being mounted on the other ballistic missiles.
Russia
Russia
• Illustration — Launch of the UR-100UTTKh ICBM, carrying the Avangard HGV, from Dombarovsky Air Base • Avangard Mach 20
US
US
• Illustration — American Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon being deployed at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station • Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (experimental) • AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) (under development) • OpFires • Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) (in development for US Army (LRHW) and US Navy Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS)) • Next Generation Glide Body (NXGB) (Lockheed Martin) • Multi-mission Affordable Capacity Effector (MACE) also known as Blackbeard (Castelion) (under development)
Countermeasures
Countermeasures
Boost-glide weapons are generally designed to avoid existing missile defense systems, either by continually maneuvering or by flying at lower altitudes to reduce warning time. This generally makes such weapons easier to intercept using defensive systems intended for lower-altitude "low-tier" targets. Flying at lower speeds than short-range ballistic missile warheads makes them easier to attack. Those that approach with very low terminal attack profiles are even subject to attack by modern hypervelocity guns and railguns. The evasion capabilities that HGVs employ are largely limited to the upper atmospheric flight span.
Illustration of HGV-202F by HTNP Industries Private Limited. A hypersonic glide vehicle by the company.
Saurav Chaudhari
Image illustrative du planeur hypersonique V-MAX en plein vol.
Keysoo
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q111319607: hypersonic glide vehicle
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Hypersonic glide vehicle”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Hypersonic glide vehicle, revision 1372898647 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Zastrow, Mark. How does China's hypersonic glide vehicle work?. Astronomy.com. November 4, 2021.
- 2.U.S. vs. China: The Race to Build Hypersonic Missiles. WSJ. 31 May 2022.
- 3.From Sänger to Avangard – hypersonic weapons come of age. Royal Aeronautical Society.
- 4.'National pride is at stake.' Russia, China, United States race to build hypersonic weapons. Science.org.
- 5.Gady, Franz-Stefan. China Tests New Weapon Capable of Breaching US Missile Defense Systems. The Diplomat. 28 April 2016.
- 6.AFP. Missiles, drones, lasers: New weapons expected at Beijing military parade. France 24. 1 September 2025.
- 7.Buckley, Chris. China's Latest Missiles, Drones and Submarines, Up Close. The New York Times. 3 September 2025.
- 8.France debuts hypersonic glide weapon in first VMaX test flight. Air force tech. 28 June 2023.
- 9.France Conducts First VMaX Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Test. Naval news. 27 June 2023.
- 10.France conducts first test firing of V-MAX hypersonic glider demonstrator. Aero time. 27 June 2023.
- 11.La France a testé le planeur hypersonique VMAX d'Ariane Group. Ouest France. 27 June 2023.
- 12.Armées : la France a testé pour la première fois un planeur hypervéloce, capable de voler à plus de Mach 5. Le figaro. 27 June 2023.
- 13.Le ministère des Armées va financer un second démonstrateur de planeur hypersonique, le VMaX-2. Opex 360. 4 May 2023.
- 14.Mandal, Sohini. India's DRDO unveils BM-04 SRBM. Janes Information Services. 5 March 2025.
- 15.India De-Classified 1,500-km BM-04 Tactical Missile With a Hypersonic Stage. Defense Express. 6 March 2025.
- 16.BM-04 short-range ballistic missile: DRDO reveals India's latest hypersonic weapon. The Economic Times. 2025-03-06. 0013-0389.
- 17.Haider, Usman. The BM-04 Missile: India's Next-Generation Conventional Counterforce Weapon. thediplomat.com. 2025-04-10.
- 18.Yahoo. Japan unveils its hypersonic weapons plans.
- 19.Hwasong 8 - Ballistic missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle.
- 20.Yang Ji-ho. North Korea's Hypersonic Missiles Threaten South. The Chosun Ilbo. 2025-10-05.
- 21.Jeong Yun-yeong. News1. 2025-10-05.
- 22.Kim Jong-un unveils two new North Korea combat drones resembling US's Reaper and Global Hawk. The Independent. 27 July 2023.
- 23.North Korean nuclear weapons, 2024. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
- 24.Zwirko, Colin. North Korea says Kim Jong Un led test of new 'Hwasong-16B' hypersonic missile. NK News. 2024-04-02.
- 25.Does North Korea have a real Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV). b14643.eu.
- 26.Seo, Yoonjung. Suspected North Korea missile test hit speed of Mach 10, more advanced than previous test, Seoul says. CNN. 2022-01-10.
- 27.CSIS. Avangard. Missile Threat.
- 28.Lockheed Martin Corporation | Lockheed Martin. news.lockheedmartin.com.
- 29.Newdick, Thomas. This Is The New Blackbeard ‘Cheap’ Hypersonic Weapon. 20 August 2026.
- 30.Introducing The Ballistic Missile Defense Ship. Aviation Week. 11 April 2014.
- 31.Tadjdeh, Yasmin. Secretive Pentagon Office Shares Details About Hypervelocity Missile Defense Weapon. National Defense. 26 January 2018.
- 32.Kunertova, Dominika. Hypersonic Weapons: Fast, Furious… and Futile?. RUSI.
- 33.Brockmann, Kolja. A matter of speed? Understanding hypersonic missile systems. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. SIPRI. 4 February 2022.
- 34.Wright, David. The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons. The Scientific American. August 2021.
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Broader subject
2- Common-Hypersonic Glide BodyTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- Type 25 Hyper Velocity Gliding ProjectileTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
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