US Air Force flight tests hypersonic missile on B-52 bomber

[rangerrebew]

US Air Force flight tests hypersonic missile on B-52 bomber
By: Cal Pringle  

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force successfully conducted a flight test of a hypersonic missile Wednesday at Edwards Air Force Base in California, according to a news release.

The flight test collected data on drag and vibration impacts on the weapon and the B-52 Stratofortress carrying it. The AGM-183A Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon did not contain explosives and was not released from the aircraft, the Air Force said.

The service noted that such tests are required for all of its weapons systems during development.

https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2019/06/13/us-air-force-flight-tests-hypersonic-missile-on-b-52-bomber/

[thackney]

AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon - ARRW / Arrow
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/agm-183.htm

On August 13, 2018 the Air Force awarded a contract not to exceed $480,000,000 to Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control to begin designing a second hypersonic weapon prototype. This contract seems to have come out of nearly nowhere. FedBizOpps has never heard of anything by this name.

In May 2018 the US Air Force launched an ambitious campaign to expedite development of a hypersonic weapon amid concerns expressed by US officials about tismlar efforts in China and Russia. "I am working with the team on acceleration and I am very confident that a significant acceleration is possible," Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, told Warrior Maven 08 May 20188. The service is willing to move forward with an effective "90 percent" solution instead of waiting many more years for a "100 percent," the acquisitions official told the news outlet. Still, he "was clear not to pinpoint an as-of-yet undetermined timeline," Warrior Maven reported.

A hypersonic weapon or vehicle is one whose speed exceeds five times the speed of sound, or upwards of 3,800 mph, a limit that present propulsion technology can barely reach. The fluid dynamics of air at those speeds behave radically differently than at the slower speeds at which most missiles and jet aircraft travel, presenting unique problems for designers. Roper said the USAF is developing a prototype for an air-launched "boost glide" weapon that accelerates into space before using the force of gravity to hit targets at higher speed on its descent. Further, engineers are developing a second demonstrator for a future "Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon" that relies on more mature technology....