US Air Force weighing future of key hypersonic program after two successful tests

RAF FAIRFORD, England — The Air Force is inspired by successful back-to-back tests of a key hypersonic weapons program, however hasn’t but determined learn how to proceed as soon as it strikes past the center tier acquisition section, its prime acquisition official stated July 16.

At a roundtable with reporters on the Royal International Air Tattoo right here, Andrew Hunter stated the Air Force remains to be attempting to reply a key query because it develops hypersonic capabilities: What is the combo of weapons it wants for the threats the U.S. faces, notably China, and the way may a hypersonic such because the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, slot in?

“Obviously, you wouldn’t buy something that doesn’t work,” Hunter stated. “But even if it does work, it’s got to be the right contribution to the overall weapons mix and the highest priority targets. That’s what’s driving [Air Force] decision making.”

Last week, the Air Force’s second successful take a look at flight in a row of ARRW ended the program’s booster take a look at section and moved it into its subsequent section of all-up-round testing. That will start later this yr.

Hunter stated the Air Force is contemplating what it’ll do after ARRW finishes the center tier acquisition section — however that it has proven a lot promise. The Defense Department makes use of the center tier acquisition method to rapidly produce prototypes that reveal a functionality works.

ARRW is already at a “significantly higher level of maturity” than earlier hypersonic packages on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Hunter stated.

And when the prototyping work on ARRW is completed, he added, he desires the Air Force to be prepared to maneuver into manufacturing of a usable hypersonic weapon.

Hypersonic weapons can attain speeds of larger than Mach 5 and maneuver midflight, making them succesful of penetrating enemy defenses and onerous to trace and shoot down. China and Russia have centered closely on researching and creating hypersonics, and a few lawmakers have blasted the Defense Department for not doing sufficient to match their hypersonic capabilities.

The Air Force’s ARRW program had a string of three testing failures final yr, when the ARRW had issues throughout launch. The failures and different delays led Congress to chop nearly $161 million within the fiscal 2022 price range that will have let the Air Force procure ARRWs; lawmakers moved half that cash to the analysis, growth, take a look at and analysis account for hypersonics.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who had repeatedly stated the service wants to contemplate what function hypersonics ought to play in its arsenal, then stated at a convention “ARRW still has to prove itself.”

But in May, the Air Force introduced a successful take a look at of ARRW from a B-52H Stratofortress. Lockheed Martin, which makes the ARRW, stated after that take a look at the program is predicted to succeed in early operational functionality subsequent yr.

Hunter stated one of the largest issues that usually reveals up through the all-up-round testing section are sudden integration points — “you know, the easy stuff,” he joked.

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The Air Force’s acquisition government stated as we speak that to be able to make quick progress on its “operational imperatives,” the service should take benefit of mature know-how developed by trade and the scientific group by organizations just like the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit.