Air Force first test of ARRW hypersonic missile fails after failing to launch from A B-52 jet bomber
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The U.S. Air Force's hotly anticipated first live-fire flight test of a prototype hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) failed Monday when the missile failed to launch. The Drive reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
8 April 2021 -- Air Force officials say there was "an issue on the aircraft," a B-52H bomber assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron out of Edwards Air Force Base in California, and it "did not launch" the weapon.
The abortive test was conducted over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California on Apr. 5, 2021. This came a day after the end of a self-imposed 30-day deadline that the Air Force had announced on March 5.
The plan had been for this launch to validate the performance of the missile's rocket booster, as well as the separation of a simulated unpowered boost-glide vehicle payload. The surrogate vehicle was not designed to actually fly and was expected to disintegrate after release from the missile body.
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
