Hypersonic successfully tested

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - After three failed attempts last year, the Air Force Armament Directorate has announced the successful launch of an Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), a hypersonic missile under development by the Air Force and contractor Lockheed Martin. Hypersonic weapons can fly at multiple times the speed of sound and are difficult to defend against. Russia and China already have successful hypersonic weapons. The ARRW is one of seven hypersonic missile projects being pursued by the U.S. military. One of those projects, the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) being developed by the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency with contractors Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne, completed a successful test flight last month. HAWC uses different propulsion technology than the ARRW. The 419th Flight Test Squadron and the Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force, both at Edwards Air Force Base in California, conducted the test. The Air Force news release said a "U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress successfully released an AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, off the Southern California coast, May 14. Following separation from the aircraft, the ARRW’s booster ignited and burned for expected duration, achieving hypersonic speeds five times greater than the speed of sound." (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 05/19/22) Previous