us is testing the deadliest rapid dragon bomb
the u.s air force on thursday destroyed a target in the gulf of mexico with a
cruise missile launched from the back of a cargo aircraft marking the first
live-fire test of its rapid dragon program
the final flight test of rapid dragon which took place at the overwater test range at eglin air
force base in florida marks a step forward in the air force strategic development planning
and experimentation office's bomb bay in a box effort to develop a palletized munition system
the air force research laboratory said in a thursday release the program could lead
to the u.s and allies being able to turn cargo aircraft into heavily armed bomb trucks as well
as give combatant commanders more firepower to turn on enemy targets from a safe distance
last month the air force carried out a similar test with an unarmed
long-range cruise missile separation test vehicle which had no warhead or engine
this time the cruise missile carried by an air force special operations command
mc-130j commando 2 aircraft was armed afrl said in the release the
battle management system on the mc130 received new targeting data in flight
and then that data was routed to the cruise missile flight test vehicle this was the
first time new targeting data was received and uploaded to a live cruise missile during flight
when the mc-130 had reached the drop zone over the gulf of mexico its crew airdropped the palletized
munition system gaining a single cruise missile and three weights simulating the mass and shape
of cruise missiles a parachute deployed to stabilize the falling rapid dragon system
and the missile and three dummy weights began to release sequentially to avoid collisions
the way in which the cruise missile separated from the deployment box this
time was unconventional afrl said it deployed vertically with its nose down
the cruise missile immediately sprung its wings and tail got aerodynamic control of itself
fired up its engine and pulled up under the engine's power it then headed towards its target
which it destroyed upon impact afrl said now that afrl proved it can deploy a cruise missile
in this way it hopes to show the palletized weapon system can work with other aircraft the next rapid
dragon experiment is scheduled for spring 2022 in a live fire test with a cruise missile from a c-17
globemaster the air force hopes to further broaden rapid dragon's capabilities so the carriage can
cause additional weapon systems and multiple types of weapons two years from now the air force wants
to bring this program from a developmental prototype to an operational prototype
afrl pointed to the quick development of rapid dragon as an example of how
government and industry can quickly produce results when collaborating this live fire
test came five months after the rapid dragon team conducted a system level flight test
which itself came 10 months after the air force and its industry partners designed it
the u.s air force wants to get a lot of firepower airborne quickly giving a radically new mission
profile to american transports the united states air force rapid draken program successfully
completed its first live fire weapon test bringing two years of testing and development to close
the rapid dragon palletized weapon system is in essence palletized
cruise missiles stored in racks aboard cargo and transport planes the air force tested the
rapid dragon concept earlier this month at eglin air force base in the western florida panhandle
the test involved loading a cruise missile test vehicle and several dummy missiles
aboard a pallet rigged with a parachute air dropping palletized cargos is not new to the
air force which literally rolls them out the back of the plane via the cargo ramp
once the pallet exits the plane a parachute deploys and the pallet floats gently to earth
rapid dragon is different from the standard pallet drop as the pallet descends it orients
its missile cargo nose down the missiles fall out of their containers pointing straight down
the descent allows the missile's turbine engines to spin up the wings to deploy and the missile to
proceed to the target rapid dragon is designed to fit in a six-pack pallet for smaller c-130j
super hercules transport planes and a 9-pack for larger longer range c-17 globemaster 3s ac-130j
has a cargo section length of 41 feet well the pallet in addition to a parachute each pallet is
equipped with a control module that feeds target data to the missiles air crews will be able to
load target data into planes mid-flight allowing for changes in plans as the battle rages on
if the plane's targets are destroyed during the mission air force battle commanders could
reroute the missiles to new targets the main missile envisioned for rapid dragon is the
am-158 joint air to surface standoff munition extended range jasmer is a stealthy land attack
cruise missile capable of penetrating defended airspace flying around enemy defenses to strike
targets with a 1000 pound wdu-42b penetrating warhead the missile has a range of 621 miles
rapid dragon turns air force transports into bombers but the transformation isn't perfect
transport planes are not stealthy and are vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles
and enemy fighters jasper's long range will allow the transports to launch their missiles
at a considerable distance from enemy defenses helping ensure the plane's survival
the program is part of a radical plan by the air force to give long-range cargo and transport
aircraft at potent defensive capability if successful it could allow battlefield commanders
to quickly get a large number of long-range standoff munitions in the air at short notice
though transport aircraft typically lacks serious offensive systems rapid
dragon seeks to improve their lack of firepower especially relevant to hypothetical battle space
say one defined by long distances like the indo-pacific and in contrast to earlier tests
this most recent test used a live munition rather than a mass simulator
the air force research laboratory explained that during the december live fire test an air force
special operations command flight crew received new targeting data while in flight which was then
routed to the cruise missile flight test vehicle the aircraft agnostic battle management systems
in flight received an upload of the new targeting data into the cruise missile flight test vehicle
was a first time achievement with a live cruise missile these lethal devices were called rapid
dragon carts today the rapid dragon concept is changing the game again this time as an airborne
delivery system for us air force weapons and like its namesake these palletized munitions
promised to unleash mighty salvos on maws on distant adversaries the air force validated
the rapid dragon palletized mentioned concept over five flights and three different kinds of
aircraft and further testing as anticipated in spring of 2022 on other aircraft types
interestingly the rapid dragon program name is derived from a thousand-year-old chinese military
design crossbow catapult that launched multiple crossbow bolts with a pull of a single trigger
reining destruction down on armies from tremendous ranges the air force statement
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