Hypersonic missiles, Russia's lethal weapon 3:07
Washington (CNN)
The US Air Force conducted a successful test of its previously troubled hypersonic missile over the weekend, a month after announcing that the program had suffered delays due to "recent air anomalies." flight tests.
The air-launched rapid response weapon (ARRW) was successfully released from a B-52H bomber off the coast of Southern California on Saturday and reached hypersonic speeds, the Air Force announced Monday, without revealing more details about the test itself, such as the duration of the flight or its altitude.
Hypersonic missiles, growth of nuclear arsenals and tense treaties: is the world experiencing an arms race?
"This was a tremendous accomplishment for the ARRW team, for the weapons company and for our Air Force," said Gen. Heath Collins, executive officer of the Air Force weapons program.
What is the ARRW hypersonic missile?
The ARRW is a hypersonic weapon that uses a rocket booster to accelerate the missile to speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.
A hypersonic glide vehicle then separates from the booster and glides at high speed towards its target.
The Air Force has had trouble testing the AGM-183A ARRW in the past, with the program suffering three flight test failures before this latest success.
Last month, the Air Force said flight test anomalies had pushed back the timeline for the weapon's completion.
The first full test of the missile and rocket booster has been delayed until sometime in the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
A day before this test, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall acknowledged the problems that the ARRW program has encountered.
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"So far, the program has not been successful in research and development," Kendall told the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee.
"We want to see evidence of success before making a decision on committing to production, so we're going to wait and see."
What are the hypersonic missiles that Russia would have used in Ukraine?
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Behind China and Russia
The Pentagon has placed a greater emphasis on developing hypersonic weapons after lawmakers worried the United States was falling behind on the Chinese and Russian programs.
Last year, China successfully tested a hypersonic weapon that orbited the globe before reaching its target.
Most recently, Russia became the first nation to use hypersonic weapons in warfare when it launched its Iskander and Kinzhal missiles against Ukraine.
The Pentagon said that Russia has used between 10 and 12 hypersonic weapons since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine.
North Korea says it has successfully tested a hypersonic missile
In mid-March, the US successfully tested its hypersonic air-breathing weapon (HAWC) concept, but kept it quiet to avoid an escalation of tensions with Russia as President Joe Biden was about to visit Europe. .
The HAWC was launched from a B-52 bomber off the West Coast in Lockheed Martin's first successful test of the system.
A booster engine accelerated the missile to high speed, at which point the air-breathing scramjet engine ignited and propelled the missile to hypersonic speeds of Mach 5 and higher.
The test came days after Russia said it used its own hypersonic missile during the Ukraine invasion, claiming it targeted an ammunition depot in western Ukraine.
Caution
Even with the increased focus on hypersonic weapons, the Secretary of the Air Force urged a note of caution about their importance.
"What we want to see is what is the most cost-effective combination of weapons," Kendall told lawmakers.
"Certainly hypersonics have a role to play in that, and we need to invest in that and acquire them in some quantity, but there is still an open question in my mind as to what is the most profitable combination."
hypersonic missile