Long-distance duel with Russian military
US Air Force successfully tests hypersonic missile
07/15/2022, 13:54 (updated)
In recent months, Russia has repeatedly caused a stir with its hypersonic missiles. Concerns are spreading in the US: Is Washington falling behind in the development of these state-of-the-art systems? Now the US Air Force can claim a victory for itself.
According to insiders, the US Air Force has successfully completed a test with a hypersonic missile manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The missile was fired off the coast of California on Tuesday, people familiar with the process said. Similar tests had previously failed. According to two insiders, the military research agency DARPA had also recently completed successful hypersonic weapon tests.
The weapon tested is an AGM-183 ARRW (Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon) air-launched missile. The US Air Force had already reported a test of the model off the American west coast in southern California in May. The rocket is said to fly at five times the speed of sound and enable precise attacks. The aim is to enable the armed forces to hold their own positions in contested areas from afar. It also enhances precision hitting skills. At that time, a long-range bomber of the type “Boeing B-52H” brought the hypersonic weapon into the air and then deployed it.
Concerns had recently been raised in the United States that Russia and China were more successful in developing such weapon systems. At the end of May, in the midst of the Ukraine war, Moscow once more reported the “successful” test of a “Zirkon” hypersonic missile. According to their own statements, the Russian armed forces had previously used Kinzhal-type hypersonic missiles in western Ukraine in March. According to the state agency RIA Novosti, their use was a novelty, previously only tests had been carried out. However, Western experts doubted that hypersonic missiles had actually been used.
Hypersonic missiles are difficult to intercept by defense systems because they can fly relatively low and very fast. The speed can reach 6200 kilometers per hour, which, like the “AGM-183 ARRW”, is five times the speed of sound.
(This article was first published on Thursday, July 14, 2022.)
