Roper: ARRW Hypersonic Missile Will Fly This Month
Dec. 14, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine
The Air Force will flight test the U.S. military’s first hypersonic missile this month, Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper said Dec. 14 at the inaugural Doolittle Leadership Center Forum. But while having a hypersonic weapon is an achievement, Roper added, it is not a full solution to the challenges posed by increasingly capable peer adversaries.
Video: AFA on YouTube
Roper’s comments came during a conversation with Air Force Association President and retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville†Wright at an event titled “From Acquisition to Lethality.†That event featured a three-general panel with top leaders from Air Force Materiel Command, who spoke from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The forum was produced in partnership with AFA’s Wright Memorial Chapter there.
The AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) beat out the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon as prototyping progressed, and it completed captive-carry testing earlier this year. The first planned booster test flight is expected this month with production beginning next year, Roper said.
https://www.airforcemag.com/roper-arrw-hypersonic-missile-will-fly-this-month/
