Meet ARRW: The U.S. Air Force Is Going All in on Hypersonic Weapons
Story by Peter Suciu • Yesterday 9:35 AM
U.S. Air Force Conducted Latest ARRW Test: The United States Air Force’s AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) had suffered through several testing mishaps, including a July 2021 rocket motor failure followed by a flight test failure last December.
As a result, in March of this year, Congress halved funding for the hypersonic weapon platform, which put the procurement contract at risk. However, after last spring’s successful test flights, it appeared that the ARRW program is flying straight and level.
ARRW Success
This week, the Air Force announced that personnel at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Louisiana had successfully taken the first steps toward implementing the first service’s first air-launched hypersonic weapon, and it is now scheduled to be operational as early as next fall.
The AGM-183 ARRW is a hypersonic air-to-ground missile that is equipped with a rocket motor that speeds it up to more than Mach 5 before it glides to its target. During this past May’s test flight, a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress successfully released the ARRW off the Southern California coast.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/meet-arrw-the-u-s-air-force-is-going-all-in-on-hypersonic-weapons/ar-AA14XIkU?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b102af0dd6eb4eb69bf6daa59f273b7f
