What is Mako Missile?

About Mako Missile:

• It is an air-launched hypersonic multi-mission missile.
• It was developed by Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace and defense manufacturer.
• It will be the world’s first hypersonic weapon that could be fired from the internal weapons bay of the fifth-generation stealth fighter jets: the F-35 and the F-22 Raptor.
• It can be used for a wide range of missions, including targets at sea, in the air, and on land.
• Features:
  • Named after the fastest shark in the seas, Mako blazes down on time-sensitive targets, and it penetrates advanced air-defense systems to engage these high-value targets at or below hypersonic speeds, depending on mission requirements.
  • It can achieve speeds over Mach 5 with high maneuverability, making it difficult to intercept.
  • It represents one of Lockheed Martin’s first generation of missiles designed within an entirely “digital engineering ecosystem”.
  • It weighs close to 590 kg with a diameter of 13 inches and an approximate length of 4 meters.

What are Hypersonic Missiles?

• A hypersonic missile is a weapon system which flies at least at the speed of Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and is manoeuvrable.
• These missiles are extremely fast and far harder for surface-to-air missile defence systems to target.

Q1: What are Ballistic Missiles?

A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled, self-guided strategic-weapons system that follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver a payload from its launch site to a predetermined target. They are powered initially by a rocket or series of rockets in stages, but then follow an unpowered trajectory that arches upwards before descending to reach its intended target. They can carry conventional high explosives as well as chemical, biological, or nuclear munitions. They can be launched from aircraft, ships, and submarines, in addition to land-based silos and mobile platforms.

Source: Strengthening US Security: The Introduction of the Mako Hypersonic Missile