US admits hypersonic weapon test failed

The US Air Force admitted that the test of a hypersonic missile made by Lockheed Martin failed for the fourth time, while revealing the possibility of adopting a competing system made by Raytheon.

“The test that we just did was not successful. We didn’t get the data we needed from that test and they’re looking into it to find out why,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told members of the House Armed Services Committee on March 28.

An ARRW missile is suspended under the wing of a B-52H Stratofortress aircraft during a test in August 2020 at Edwards Air Force Base. Photo: US Air Force

Mr. Kendall was referring to the test of the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) off the coast of Southern California on March 13. He did not elaborate on what happened with the launch.

Mr Kendall’s comments may have surprised some lawmakers, as the US Air Force issued a statement last week saying the ARRW test had “met several objectives”. The statement did not mention the test failure.

ARRW has been in development since 2018 and was delayed after three failed tests in 2021. The US Air Force announced the first successful launch of the missile in May 2022, with the missile reaching speeds above Mach 5 (6,125 km/h).

Hypersonic missiles with speeds above Mach 5 are highly maneuverable and therefore very difficult to shoot down. The US does not have a fully operational hypersonic missile and is lagging behind Russia and China in the race to develop this type of weapon.

After the latest ARRW test, the Air Force is “more committed” to another hypersonic program, the Hypersonic Strike Cruise Missile (HACM), Kendall said. A budget decision on whether to adopt ARRW is expected in 2024, after two more test launches.

The Air Force has reportedly received about $423 million for ARRW research and development over the past two years, and has requested an additional $150 million in the budget for the next fiscal year. Total funding for HACM is $423 million for the current fiscal year alone, and the Air Force plans to spend another $1.9 billion on the program over the next five years.

The HACM program has been “reasonably successful” so far, according to Mr. Kendall.

“We see a role for HACM. It’s compatible with more aircraft and will bring more combat capabilities overall,” Kendall said./.