While the U.S. Air Force has said that the March 17 third all-up-round test of the Lockheed Martin [LMT] AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) is the last in the rapid prototyping series for the Trump-dubbed “Super Duper Missile,” the service has indicated that it will use test data for future hypersonic work.
“While future ARRW decisions are pending final analysis of all flight test data, the service is pleased to report that the ARRW rapid prototyping program has [been] a categorical success to date,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Dale White, the military deputy to Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter, told the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) strategic forces panel five days before the latest test.
“Though specific test objectives and the complexities of the program cannot be provided in an unclassified forum, these tests acquired valuable, unique data and were intended to further a range of hypersonic programs,” he said. “It also validated and improved the Air Force’s test and evaluation capabilities for continued development of advanced hypersonic systems, and reinforces their strategic value across the DAF [Department of the Air Force].”
Hunter said this month that ARRW flight test data would help determine future hypersonic requirements for the Department of the Air Force (DAF) (Defense Daily, March 7).
Markers for the March 17 test came not from the “investigative” journalist’s favorite tool–amorphous “sources”–but from X accounts monitoring notifications to airmen (NOTAMs) that provide guidance on safe flight paths.
The Air Force said on March 28 that “the following was sent to media members that had open queries asking about that particular test.”
“A B-52H Stratofortress conducted a test of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon,” the Air Force said. “This test launched a full prototype operational hypersonic missile and focused on the ARRW’s end-to-end performance. The test took place at the Reagan Test Site with the B-52 taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on March 17, 2024, local time.”
“The Air Force gained valuable insights into the capabilities of this new, cutting-edge technology,” the service said, echoing White’s March 12 HASC subcommittee testimony. “While we won’t discuss specific test objectives, this test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of hypersonic programs. We also validated and improved our test and evaluation capabilities for continued development of advanced hypersonic systems. The Air Force is evaluating the results of this test and will use these results to inform future decisions on this and other programs.”
In September 2022, the Air Force awarded RTX [RTX]–then Raytheon–a $985 million contract for the air-breathing Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) (Defense Daily, Sept. 22, 2022). The company beat out Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA] for the award.