Europe's strategic push against hypersonic missile threats
The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen European defence cooperation. One key aspect of this collaboration is the development of the Hypersonic Defence Interceptor System (HYDIS).
The HYDIS programme is a European initiative to develop a modern interception system capable of effectively protecting Europe's territory, population, key facilities, and deployed forces from threats associated with hypersonic missiles.
HYDIS - research on destroying hypersonic weapons
The initiative is of great importance because, at present, Europe does not have fully effective defence systems against hypersonic missiles, which are among the most advanced and hardest-to-intercept threats. This is partly due to the speed at which hypersonic missiles travel (even 5 Mach, which is over 6,000 kilometres per hour) and their difficult-to-predict flight trajectory due to their ability to manoeuvre in the atmosphere.
Moreover, unlike the United States, China, and Russia, Europe does not have such missiles in its arsenal. These countries are considered significant security threats in our part of the world, and they have at least a few such solutions in their arsenal. The Russians, in particular, boast about their Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles, the Avangard system, Zircon missiles, and the latest Oreshnik missiles.
Europe's defence relies mainly on medium- and long-range missile systems, such as the German IRIS-T SLM, the Italian-French SAMP/T, and the American Patriot system deployed in several NATO countries. However, these solutions were primarily designed to counter classic ballistic missiles and aircraft, not advanced hypersonic missiles.
HYDIS programme - anti-hypersonic missile defence for Europe
The HYDIS programme began in 2024 and includes a three-year conceptual phase to research, develop, and select a practical concept or family of concepts capable of countering hypersonic threats. This phase aims to achieve several key objectives.
These include selecting the most appropriate interception concept and weapon system architecture, developing the necessary technologies to implement the idea in subsequent programme phases, and establishing an industrial network for developing future European missile systems.
The OCCAR manages the programme mentioned above under an agreement with the European Commission, and the HYDIS consortium includes 19 partners and over 30 subcontractors from 14 European countries. These countries collectively allocated approximately £51 million, with an additional £68 million coming from the European Defence Fund (EDF). Among them are France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.
The core of this system is the American initiative European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), under which the United States deploys its missile defence elements in Europe. An example of this is the Aegis Ashore system, whose components are located, among other places, at the base in Redzikowo. However, it should be noted that Aegis Ashore uses SM-3 Block IB and IIA intercept missiles. These can counter short—and medium-range ballistic missiles but not hypersonic missiles.
