US Air Force tests hypersonic missile travelling at 4,000 miles per hour for first time
The US military has previously suffered a series of setbacks when testing hypersonic missiles.
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The US Air Force has successfully carried out a test of its air launched hypersonic missile, a statement confirmed. A full prototype of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, also known as the ARRW was launched from a B52 aircraft off the coast of California on Friday.
The AGM-183A missile reached hypersonic speeds more than five times the speed of sound.
It denotated in the terminal area the the 96th Test Wing revealed.
According to the US Air Force, all the objectives of the test were met.
The ARRW is a boost-glide missile which uses a booster rocket to allow a projectile to hypersonic speeds.
At that point a glide vehicle then separates from the booster and travels to its target at hypersonic speeds using inertia.
This was the first test of the entire system know as as an All-Up-Round test.
Previous launches have focused on the booster rocket.
In the last year the ARRW missile suffered a series of failures therefore forcing the US Air Force to delay the project.
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As Russia ������������ threatens to play with nukes, the US Navy ������������ successfully tested a hypersonic missile. pic.twitter.com/6uuMHHyyGj
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) October 27, 2022
Video of a Tsirkon hypersonic missile hitting a sea target. https://t.co/8p4nXcGa26 pic.twitter.com/4oS4guhi5i
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 13, 2022
However, the US Air Force described these failures as “anomalies.”
The Pentagon has recently shown an increasing importance on the testing of hypersonic weapons.
This is partly because Russia and China have advanced with their own programmes.
Russia has fired its own hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine, potentially the first time such a weapon has been used in combat.
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“Following the #ARRW’s separation from the aircraft, it reached hypersonic speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, completed its flight path and detonated in the terminal area. Indications show that all objectives were met” - USAF Dec. 12, 2022 pic.twitter.com/qo09SBQK7l
— Air Power (@MIL_STD) December 12, 2022
Last year during a test a Chinese hypersonic missile flew around the world before it hit its target.
Hypersonic weapons are able to travel at 4,000 miles per hour and at speeds greater than Mach 5 which means they are hard to detect.
It is also possible for the missiles to maneuver and vary altitude which allows them to evade missile detection systems.