The US air force announced that it had conducted a live fire test of the AGM-183A ARRW (Air Launched Rapid Response weapon) on March 17.
The test followed the emergence of pictures showing the AGM-183A missile loaded onto a US air force B52H bomber on social media a few days ago.
The B52H Stratofortress took off from Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base before carrying out the flight test of the missile. However, the US air force did not confirm whether the test was successful or failed.
A US air force spokesperson stated: “A B52H Stratofortress carried out the test of the fully operational ARRW prototype after taking off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.”
“The air force gained valuable insights into the capabilities of this new, cutting-edge technology. While we won’t discuss specific test objectives, this test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of hypersonic programmes,” he added.
Over the past three years, the US air force conducted several flight tests of the ARRW. While some initial tests were successful, repeated failures in flight testing led to the cancellation of the project in March 2023.
However, the programme persists as Lockheed Martin developed another full-fledged prototype for further testing. Reports indicate that this is the final test of ARRW, and the future of this programme remains unclear.
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Hypersonic missiles are in two types – hypersonic cruise missiles and boost glide vehicles. These missiles can travel at speeds of at least Mach 5 within earth’s atmosphere, making them difficult to intercept by even the most advanced anti-ballistic missile systems.
What is AGM 183A ARRW?
The AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) is a hypersonic glide vehicle missile system capable of travelling at a speed of at least Mach 5. It is designed to be launched from US Air Force bombers such as the B-52H and B-1B Lancer.
Unlike traditional boost glide vehicles, the ARRW is a weapon system that uses an air launched booster to launch the glide vehicle.
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Once thought to be the United States’ first hypersonic missile, the destiny of the AGM-183A now remains unclear.
Rising competition
Meanwhile, three notable rivals to the US — Russia, China, and North Korea — have made significant advancements in hypersonic weapons development. Russia and China have already deployed hypersonic glide vehicles — Avangard and DF-17, respectively. Additionally, North Korea was also claimed to have tested its hypersonic glide vehicle named Hwasong-8 in 2021.
The DF-17 hypersonic missile, with an estimated range of 2500 km, in conjunction with the PLA rocket force, poses a serious threat to American military bases in its allies like Japan. It is believed that the DF-17 can also hit moving aircraft carriers. Meanwhile, Russia has equipped its ICBMs with intercontinental range Avangard glide vehicles, capable of evading all existing US missile defence systems with a speed of Mach 27. Additionally, the North Korean Hwasong-8 also poses a significant threat to Guam, potentially capable of hitting Hawaii as well.
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Conclusion
Despite a few successful tests of other hypersonic missiles such as LRHW and OpFires, the US has yet to deploy an operational hypersonic weapon. If the recent flight test of the full-fledged ARRW prototype was successful, it could mark a crucial step forward for the US in catching up with its competitors in hypersonic technology.
