WASHINGTON — The Air Power and the Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives Company quietly performed a profitable hypersonic missile take a look at final month.
A protection official advised Protection News the Pentagon selected to not announce the take a look at of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Idea, or HAWC, for about two weeks to keep away from inflaming already-delicate tensions with Russia.
The free-flight take a look at concerned the model of the HAWC created by Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne and was launched from a B-52 Stratofortress off the West Coast in mid-March, the protection official mentioned.
A DARPA launch Tuesday mentioned the HAWC missile was boosted till its air-breathing, Aerojet-made scramjet engine ignited and shortly accelerated to speeds sooner than Mach 5. DARPA mentioned it maintained that pace for an prolonged time frame, reached altitudes greater than 65,000 toes, and flew for extra 300 nautical miles.
Particulars of the take a look at and the explanation it was not instantly introduced have been first reported by CNN.
The protection official mentioned the HAWC take a look at passed off shortly after Russia mentioned it used certainly one of its personal hypersonic weapons towards Ukraine and was the identical week as President Joe Biden’s journey to Europe, which started March 23.
He in contrast the Pentagon’s resolution to not instantly reveal the take a look at to its resolution to postpone a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile take a look at in early March. That ICBM take a look at was delayed after Russian President Vladimir Putin put his nation’s nuclear forces on greater alert, and the Pentagon mentioned it needed to keep away from any potential misunderstanding over the Minuteman take a look at.
Air Power Gen. Tod Wolters, head of U.S. European Command, confirmed in a Senate Armed Companies Committee listening to final week Russia had launched a number of hypersonic weapons towards targets in Ukraine.
DARPA mentioned the March take a look at marked the second profitable flight for the HAWC, following a September 2021 take a look at of Raytheon Applied sciences’ model of the missile.
Andrew Knoedler, the HAWC program supervisor in DARPA’s Tactical Expertise Workplace, mentioned this system is now analyzing information from the flight take a look at.
“This Lockheed Martin HAWC flight take a look at efficiently demonstrated a second design that can permit our warfighters to competitively choose the precise capabilities to dominate the battlefield,” Knoedler mentioned. “These achievements enhance the extent of technical maturity for transitioning HAWC to a service program of file.”
Hypersonic weapons can journey at super speeds, greater than 5 occasions the pace of sound, and are extremely maneuverable. As a result of they can change course midflight, they’re much tougher to trace and shoot down than typical ballistic missiles, making them able to penetrating enemy defenses.
The profitable take a look at provides Air Power hypersonics a win after a string of setbacks. The Air Power’s foremost hypersonic program, the AGM-183A Air-Launched Speedy Response Weapon, or ARRW, noticed testing failures and delays in 2021 that prompted Congress to strike almost $161 million in procurement funds within the 2022 spending invoice and divert half of that quantity to analysis and growth. The Air Power’s proposed fiscal 2023 price range seeks to enhance funding for hypersonic prototyping, however doesn’t name for any procurement funds subsequent yr.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter at Protection News. He beforehand reported for Navy.com, overlaying the Pentagon, particular operations and air warfare. Earlier than that, he coated U.S. Air Power management, personnel and operations for Air Power Occasions.
