US Air Force successfully conducts hypersonic missile test

News, US May 19, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The U.S. Air Forces carried out another successful test of its hypersonic missile only one month after announcing delays in the testing program due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The U.S. Air Force Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) successfully achieved the required speed of Mach 5 by exceeding the speed of sound by five folds. The missile was launched from a B-52H Bomber aircraft off the coast of Southern California on May 14. However, the official announcement of the successful test came on May 16. The U.S. Air Force did not release any details about the test such as the altitude and duration of the flight.

Brigadier General Heath Collins, the Air Force’s program executive officer for weapons said that “This was a major accomplishment by the ARRW team, for the weapon enterprise, and our Air Force.”

The U.S. Air Force ARRW hypersonic weapons program has met with many anomalies and schedule delays in recent times. With China and Russia rapidly expanding their hypersonic weapons development program, Pentagon has placed an increased emphasis on its hypersonic weapons, however, U.S. Air Force has been struggling with the testing phase. The program has already suffered at least three flight test failures before finally having a successful test.

The hypersonic program suffered a major blow last month in April when the B-52H Stratofortress bomber aircraft carrying AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) failed to initiate the launch sequence after flying from the Edwards Air Force Base in California.

^{Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, program executive officer for weapons and director of the Armament Directorate, addresses the small audience of Eglin Air Force Base leadership and Airmen by video recording. (Image Credit: U.S. Air Force/Ilka Cole)}

According to the statement released by the U.S. Air Force, “B-52H Stratofortress took off over the Point Mugu Sea Range intending to fire the first booster test vehicle for the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program. Instead, the test missile was not able to complete its launch sequence and was safely retained on the aircraft which returned to Edwards AFB.”

The U.S. Air Force’s other hypersonic weapons program, the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) has been slightly more successful in the testing phase compared to the ARRW system.

In mid-March, the U.S. Air Force announced that they have successfully tested its HAWC missile system but did not disclose it to avoid escalating tensions with Russia as President Biden was about to visit Europe.

The current successful test for U.S. Air Force ARRW comes weeks after Russia used its own hypersonic missile to target an ammunition warehouse in Ukraine, pushing Pentagon to hasten its progress on the hypersonic weapons program.

*^{Rendering of an AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) showing its hypersonic glide warhead. (Image Credit: Lockheed Martin)}*

Even with the increased focus on hypersonic weapons, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall urged a note of caution about their importance. “What we want to look at is what’s the most cost-effective mix of weapons,” Kendall said.

“There is certainly a role for hypersonics in that, and we need to invest in that and procure them in some quantities, but there’s still an open question in my mind about what’s the most cost effective mix,” he added.