A B-52H Stratofortress takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, California to conduct a hypersonic missile test on Aug. 8, 2020. (Photo: DVIDS/Air Force photo by Matt Williams)
CNN: Air Force delays hypersonic missile program after flight test ‘anomalies’
The Air Force delayed its hypersonic missile program by up to a year after “recent flight test anomalies” pushed back the schedule for the weapon’s completion, according to a statement from the Air Force.
The AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) was supposed to reach early operational capability, an important milestone in weapon testing and development, before October.
But following a series of failures in flight tests last year, the Air Force postponed the first test of the complete missile and booster to sometime in the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
More tests will follow later in the year, the Air Force said. “The ARRW production decision remains event-driven and will occur after operational utility is demonstrated through successful system end-to-end flight tests,” the Air Force said.
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Update: Hypersonic-Missile Delay Puts U.S. Further Behind Russia and China (Bloomberg)
WNU Editor: This is a major set-back.