The U.S. Air Force will not procure the AGM-183A ARRW (acronym for Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon) hypersonic missile, developed by Lockheed Martin when it completes the prototype phase, due to recurring test firing failures.
The information was communicated to the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces of the U.S. House of Representatives by Andrew P. Hunter, Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics of the U.S. Air Force.
This is as far as ARRW goes
In written testimony submitted on March 29, Andrew Hunter reported that the USAF does not intend to continue the AGM-183A ARRW program beyond the prototype phase. However, he requested $150 million for the fiscal 2024 budget to complete the test-firing program, as the information obtained may prove useful to other hypersonic weapons programs.
“While the Air Force does not currently intend to pursue follow-on
procurement of ARRW once the prototyping program concludes, there is inherent benefit to
completing the All-Up Round (AUR) Test Flights (ATFs) to garner the learning and test data
that will help inform future hypersonic programs and, potential leave behind capability support”, wrote Mr. Hunter in his presentation.
The end of the ARRW program was announced a day after US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall testified before the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel that the last test firing of an operational ARRW prototype conducted on March 13, «was not a success.»
Kendall had also confirmed that the test-firing phase of the last two prototypes was intended to be completed, but that the USAF is now actually looking more favorably on the Hypersonic Cruise Attack Missile (HACM) program, the other major US Air Force hypersonic weapons project, which has been showing more promising results.
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HACM program
The Hypersonic Cruise Attack Missile is being developed by Raytheon for the USAF, and is an air-launched hypersonic weapon propelled by scramjet propulsion, designed to strike high-value targets from a distance in contested airborne environments.
Raytheon Missiles & Defense designed the HACM, which leverages Northrop Grumman’s scramjet propulsion, to travel at more than five times the speed of sound and cover long distances in a matter of minutes. The USAF stated that it expects the missile to be operational in fiscal year 2027.
To that end, Andrew Hunter requested $382 million from the FY2024 budget to advance HACM development to the critical design stage, continue model-based engineering activities, mature the digital ecosystem to complete critical design analysis, conduct design verification testing, execute initial qualification testing, acquire the first flight demonstrators.
