The US Air Force plans to test the AGM-183 hypersonic weapon in the coming days. This was announced by Brigadier General Heath A. Collins, head of the US Air Force’s armaments division (see here). If the tests are successful, production is to start next year.
This will be the second attempt to fly the AGM-183. The first test three months ago was aborted prematurely due to technical faults that were not made public. The Air Force had previously carried out a series of so-called “captive carry flight” tests. These tests confirmed the integration of the tactical hardware with the B-52 bomber’s carrier system. The systems developed by Lockheed Martin AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) is an air-launched glide vehicle with hypersonic propulsion up to Mach 20, based on the so-called “boost-glide system”. The hypersonic glider is accelerated to supersonic speed by a carrier rocket and released from it before gliding towards its target. The missile can be launched from a B-52 bomber or – as US Air Force Chief of Acquisition Will Roper announced – from an F-15 jet.
The ARRW is part of the “Tactical Boost Glide” (TBG) project, on which the Air Force is working together with Darpa, the research funding organization of the US Department of Defense. In addition to the ARRW, the hypersonic cruise missile “Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept” (HAWC) is also being developed as part of the project. Similar to the ARRW, the HAWC is wedged off a bomber and then accelerated by a rocket. However, the HAWC uses an advanced scramjet engine (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet). Unlike a conventional jet engine, the ramjet does not have a mechanical fan to compress the incoming air in the combustion chamber. Instead, the shape of the engine alone is sufficient to compress the oxygen due to the high speed of the incoming air. Ramjets work from Mach 5; the higher the flight speed, the better the air compression.
US race to catch up with hypersonic weapons
The development of hypersonic glide missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles has been stepped up in the US in recent years. Together with microelectronics/5G, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, the US Department of Defense has declared hypersonic weapons to be the four critical areas of modernization (advanced capability enablers – ACEs). The Pentagon’s submitted defense budget request for 2021 provides for 106.6 billion US dollars (around 88 billion euros) for the research and development of ACEs, of which 3.2 billion dollars (2.7 billion euros) is earmarked for hypersonic weapons. The largest share is earmarked for artificial intelligence at 84.1 billion dollars (69.8 billion euros). The most recent boost to the development of hypersonic weapons in the USA was not least due to the progress made by Russia and China in this field. At the latest when Russia tested the Avangard hypersonic weapon at the end of 2018 and announced its operational readiness a few months later, hardly anyone in the USA was in any doubt that work on this type of weapon needed to be accelerated. All the more so as China, with its Dongfeng-17 hypersonic glider, also appears to be in the fast lane in the development of hypersonic technology. https://militaeraktuell.at/mit-hyperschall-wettlauf-um-die-neuen-superwaffen/ Although the USA has historically been a leading power in research into hypersonic technologies, it has long deliberately not developed hypersonic capabilities for combat purposes, said the senior director of the hypersonic weapons program at the US Department of Defense, Mike White, said recently. However, the actions of Russia and China now make this step necessary. The USA certainly has reason to be concerned. This is because hypersonic missiles are difficult or impossible to intercept with conventional defense systems. The reason for this is their high speed (at least Mach 5) and comparatively low flight altitude (at around 30 kilometers), which is why they are only detected late by radars. What makes defense even more difficult is their maneuverability: unlike ballistic missiles, they do not follow a predictable trajectory; the surprise effect makes the weapons a game changer in modern warfare. USA provides insight into hypersonic weapons plan
The USA’s intention to catch up with its competitors in the development of hypersonic weapons is reflected in the strategy presented by Mike White last week. The first of the three parts relates to the development of offensive hypersonic weapons for land-, sea- and air-based attacks against time-critical, long-range and heavily defended high-value targets (HVT). According to White, these should be operational by the early to mid-2020s. On the other hand, the aim is to develop a system to defend against hypersonic weapons. White names the mid to late 2020s as the time for their deployment. Finally, the aim is to be able to use reusable hypersonic systems for intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack in the coming decade.
Essentially, the plan is to have deployable offensive hypersonic weapons and, at the same time, to expand the ability to defend against the hypersonic capabilities of opponents. Various military departments as well as industry and organic laboratories are involved in the broad-based program to implement the comprehensive strategy. The USA’s allies may also be involved in the development, according to from the Pentagon. This includes Australia, for example, which is working with the USA on a hypersonic glider capable of Mach 8. Mike White also cites the need for additional engineers, technicians and other specialists as central to the realization of the entire project of developing hypersonic weapons in the longer term. In addition, with the help of the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office, the Pentagon has created a consortium of universities to develop curricula and relevant research topics in the field of hypersonic weapons technology.
