ARRW hypersonic missile test failed, US Air Force admits
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A B-52H Stratofortress takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to conduct a test of the AGM-183A Instrumented Measurement Vehicle 2 prototype. (Matt Williams/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s March 13 test of a hypersonic weapon was “not a success,” the service secretary told lawmakers Tuesday.
Frank Kendall indicated the Lockheed Martin-made AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon program may be in jeopardy. The service, he said, is “more committed to HACM [the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, the service’s other major hypersonic weapon program] at this point in time than we are to ARRW.”
The ARRW effort “has struggled a little bit in its testing program,” Kendall told the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel during a hearing on the fiscal 2024 budget request. He said an ultimate decision on whether to continue with the program could come as part of the FY25 budget process next year following a study of the failed March test and possibly two more test launches.
Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds topping Mach 5 and are highly maneuverable, making them difficult to track and shoot down. China and Russia have invested considerable resources in developing these weapons for their militaries, and several U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that the country is not doing enough to field its own hypersonic capabilities.
The Air Force on Friday revealed it had conducted the second test launch of a fully operational prototype ARRW off the coast of southern California earlier this month.
But the Air Force did not reveal details about the test or its success in that statement, only saying it met “several of the objectives.” That language differed from an Air Force statement in December about a previous ARRW test, in which the service said the weapon’s release was successful and met all objectives.
The Air Force declined to comment further on the March test and its results when contacted Friday by Defense News.
Kendall did not detail how the March 13 test fell short in his testimony.
“We did not get the data that we needed from that test,” he told lawmakers. “They’re currently examining that, trying to understand what happened.”
