The US Air Force said that a successful test of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon
(ARRW) hypersonic missile has been conducted.
The release said on Monday, “A US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress successfully
released an AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, off the Southern California
coast, May 14,” The B-52H Stratofortress that launched the
missile was from the 419th Flight Test Squadron.
After the separation from the aircraft, the ARRW’s booster ignited and burned for the
expected duration, achieving hypersonic speeds 5 times greater than the speed of sound.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why the successful launch of ARRW from the B-52
bomber is a key development?
Let's get started.
Brigadier General Heath Collins, USAF program executive officer for weapons, said: “This
was a major accomplishment by the ARRW team, for the weapons enterprise, and our Air Force.”
He added: “The team’s tenacity, expertise, and commitment were key in overcoming the
past year’s challenges to get us to the recent success.
We are ready to build on what we've learned and continue moving hypersonics forward.”
The challenges that Collins referred to are the 3 failed attempts before this.
In the first and third instances, the prototype AGM-183As did not even leave the wing of the
B-52H bomber carrying them.
On the second test, the missile had separated, but the rocket booster did not ignite, and
the prototype fell into the Pacific.
An object is said to be hypersonic once they exceed the speeds of Mach 5 that is 5 times
the speed of sound.
This is about 1,715 meters per second or 3,836mph or 6,174 km/h.
Extreme speed of hypersonic weapons and ability to fly in unpredictable paths give them a
much high probability of penetrating modern air defenses.
They will be very hard to track, let alone intercept.
It is to be noted that traditional ballistic missiles also reach hypersonic speed when
they descend down on the target but they follow a predictable predefined parabolic path which
leaves scope for interception by anti-ballistic missile defense systems.
In 2017, Lockheed Martin won the contract to begin ARRW development.
The company had stated it wanted to meet the desired production targets within three years.
Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and
Logistics had said in a statement about the flight test,
“We set out an aggressive schedule with ARRW.
Getting to this flight test on time highlights the amazing work of our acquisition workforce
and our partnership with Lockheed Martin and other industry partners.”
He had added, "We’re using the rapid prototyping authorities
provided by Congress to quickly bring hypersonic weapon capabilities to the warfighter.
This type of speed in our acquisition system is essential – it allows us to field capabilities
rapidly to compete against the threats we face."
There are different types of hypersonic weapons - ARRW is essentially a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle
(HGV).
In this method, the system is launched to extremely high altitudes using Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM) or an aircraft where it skips across the Earth’s upper atmosphere
and then glides back attaining hypersonic speed.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber in
service with the US Air Force.
The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and
upgrades.
It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s and with
upgrades, is supposed to serve into the 2040s.
It has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles or 14,080 km without aerial refueling.
The massive range enables B 52 to take on strategic bombing missions.
The powerful engines also enable B 52 to carry up to 70,000 pounds or 32,000 kg of weapons.
Depending on the exact size of the ARRW, B 52 may be one of the only few aircraft that
will be able to carry it.
B 52 is currently a vulnerable platform because of its large radar cross-section and allow
speed.
It will find it difficult to penetrate the advanced air defense system.
But with ARRW, it will have a weapon that can be launched from standoff distances without
getting inside the engagement envelope of enemy air defenses.
The U.S is lagging in the hypersonic weapons space, especially against Russia and China.
Russia has already fielded Avangard and Kinzhal whereas China has deployed Chinese DF-ZF and
YJ-21.
As stated by US DoD leaders, hypersonic weapons are a national imperative.
Michael E. White Principal Director for Hypersonics has said the adversaries have increasingly
focused on systems that dramatically compress the timelines and the timescale of a tactical
battlefield.
He indicated that American portfolio of subsonic and supersonic weapons will be found wanting
in a battle.
He stated that U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has developed the Hypersonics Modernization
Strategy that accelerates the development and delivery of transformational warfighting
capabilities based on hypersonic systems.
In this situation the successful test of ARRW is a major boost for U.S. forces.