The US Air Force said it successfully tested its air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster off the California coast on Tuesday. Lockheed Martin, at the same time, said that this successful test demonstrates the air-launched Rapid Response Weapon’s ability to operate, reach and withstand hypersonic speeds. The company said that this test also collects important data for use in future flight tests. This test has shown that the missile can safely disengage from its launch pad.
Now test will be done with booster and warhead
We have now completed our booster test series and are ready to proceed to all-up-round testing later this year, said Brigadier General Heath Collins, program executive officer for the Armament Directorate and the US Air Force. All-up-round includes both a booster and a warhead. Hypersonic weapons travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere, or about 6,200 km (3,853 mi) per hour.
Successful test of second hypersonic missile
In a separate hypersonic weapon test, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) confirmed that it successfully conducted the first test of its operational fire hypersonic weapon. The test was conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Operational Fire is a ground-launched system that can rapidly and accurately destroy critical and sensitive targets while entering enemy air defenses at hypersonic speeds. DARPA has received a budget of $45 million for operational fires in fiscal year 2022.
what happened in the first two tests
The air-launched Rapid Response Weapon was unsuccessful in its first two tests. The first test of this missile was conducted in April 2021. Then this missile could not be released from the wing of a B-52 aircraft flying from Edwards Air Force Base in California. After which the plane landed safely. Whereas the second test was done in the last week of June 2021, in which the rocket engine installed in the missile did not turn on on the occasion. Due to this, the missile had fallen on the earth from a great height while diving. The US hypsonic missile program suffered a major setback due to the failure of two consecutive tests of this missile.