Is the US “Number 3” in the World Behind Russia and China in the Realm of Hypersonic Weapons?

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) In recent years, Senior Pentagon weapons developers and leaders have publicly said the US was “number 3” in the world behind Russia and China in the realm of hypersonic weapons.

Hypersonic Weapons

Both Russia and China have made headlines with hypersonic weapons tests and various demonstrations, developments which certainly got noticed at the Pentagon. Much is known about highly-visible Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons often highlighted in their respective state media outlets. However, Beneath the visibility and clamor of attention focused on Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons, the US has quietly been making rapid progress of its own in the realm of hypersonics. The Air Force and Army, for instance, are already “firing” cutting edge hypersonic weapons and the Navy plans to arm its Zumwalt destroyers with hypersonics by 2025.

Last May, for instance, the Air Force successfully fired its AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) from a B-52.  

“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.

 However, despite this promising development, more recent tests have proven less successful. A report in Breaking Defense from March 29 says the service will not buy the ARRW, citing a recently failed test. 

Air Force Research Lab Commanding General Talks Hypersonics