Air-Launched Missiles Slated as First U.S. Hypersonic Weapons.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

The Air Force's AGM-183 A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon is poised to be the first hypersonic offensive system to move from development to procurement, the Defense Department's point man on the technology said.

There will be a number of test flights for ARRW--pronounced "arrow"--over the next year with fielding planned in 2022, Mike White, principal director for hypersonics in the office of the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said recently. The 2022 budget proposal released in late May supports an "accelerated buying strategy" that will transition some of the various research-and-development programs to weapons procurement, he added.

"All we need is our industry partner Lockheed Martin to deliver the capability, and then we'll buy it," White said at a talk hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Defense Department is prioritizing the development of air-launched hypersonic weapons such as the ARRW over land- or sea-launched systems, he said. There is also funding in the 2022 budget request to continue to develop the Air Force's Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile and the Navy's Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 2 airlaunched capabilities.

White mentioned reports that adversaries such as China and Russia have moved ahead of the United States in hypersonics, defined as platforms that can travel in Earth's atmosphere over Mach 5 and have a high degree of maneuverability.

"As you understand that landscape, you really understand how real this is and how important it is--a national imperative in my mind--that we move forward and deliver to our warfighters this capability," White said.

There are two primary types of offensive hypersonic weapon systems. One is boost-glide which calls for using a rocket booster to propel a missile to high altitudes and releasing a vehicle that glides down at high speeds. The other is airbreathing scramjet missiles.

"Cruise missiles ... are smaller and are more affordable because of that smaller size, and they're more compatible with a wider range of platforms," White said.

The Pentagon is prioritizing the airlaunched weapons because they will be easier to integrate onto jet fighters, he said.

"They allow us to bring in the fourthgen fighters into the fight on day one" to launch the weapons, he said, mentioning the F-16 and F-15EX aircraft.

The Navy and Air Force are working closely together to coordinate integration of hypersonic missiles into other platforms...