Hypersonic ARRW test failure a setback, USAF says flightglobal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from flightglobal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Air Force Prepares Latest Hypersonic Missile Test Amid Arms Race With China, Russia
On 3/8/21 at 3:57 AM EST
The U.S. Air Force is set to conduct the first flight test in its hypersonic missile project within the next 30 days, as the Pentagon pushes ahead with its research into the next-generation weapons.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center s Armament Directorate issued a statement on Friday noting that the first booster test flight (BTF-1) of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon known as ARRW will take place within a month, following unexplained delays.
The test had been due to happen last week, and before that was scheduled for some time in December 2020. The Air Force did not say specifically why the launch had been repeatedly pushed back, though cited technical findings and the COVID-19 pandemic as factors.
Air Force Prepares Latest Hypersonic Missile Test Amid Arms Race With China, Russia msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Garrett Reim2021-03-01T23:01:00+00:00
The US Air Force (USAF) plans to flight test its boost-glide AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) this week for the first time.
The service announced its plans late on 26 February, in a panel discussion at the Air Force Association’s Aerospace Warfare Symposium.
Source: Lockheed Martin
ARRW launch from B-52
“We actually have hardware built and are getting ready for our first booster flight test next week,” said Brigadier General Heath Collins, programme executive officer for weapons and director of the USAF’s armament directorate. “There’s real hardware coming. We’re also getting ready to transition into production within about a year on that programme.”