China has reportedly developed a hypersonic missile using stainless steel for the nose cone, something long considered unfeasible due to the extreme heat generated at hypersonic speeds. Typically, materials like tungsten or advanced ceramics are used because they can withstand temperatures exceeding 2,500°C. Steel, by contrast, melts at around 1,200°C.
Hypersonic Leap: How China’s Stainless Steel Missile Nose Cone Could Change the Game For decades, the race to build effective hypersonic missiles—rockets that fly at more than five times the speed of sound—has been constrained by a truly blistering barrier: heat. At speeds approaching Mach 8, the friction generated by the atmosphere can push temperatures […]