Air Force Hypersonic Air-Launched Missile May Come to Life Again

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) The Air Force had successfully fired its breakthrough hypersonic Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon from a B-52 with initial success, an auspicious development suggesting rapid weapons development for the service as it seeks to close the gap with China and Russia.

However, although the first test firing indicated an initial measure of success, the service is now canceling the ARRW. Air Force acquisition executive Andrew Hunter told Congress of the Air Force’s but did say there was value in continued research and development.

The service “does not currently intend to pursue follow-on procurement of the ARRW once the prototyping program concludes,” Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter said in a written statement to the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee, according to an essay published in Breaking Defense.

The article in Breaking Defense cited senior service officials explaining that a recent test of the ARRW simply did not go well, however not many details are provided.

What is significant about the ARRW is that developmental progress in the realm of hypersonic weapons has likely been advanced to a very substantial degree, as the ability to launch and then sustain hypersonic speeds has been a longstanding challenge for the Pentagon. While Hunter did not definitely say that the service would “never” buy the weapon, he did clearly indicate that progress toward production following the prototype phase will come to a halt.

Last year, the ARRW did fire successfully from a B-52 and, according to Air Force reports. “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,” an Air Force statement from last year stated.