Following statements made by U.S. Air Force (USAF) Chief of Staff General David Allvin, the AGM-183 ARRW hypersonic missile program could be revived after years of inactivity. According to Allvin, the program will be included in the proposed 2026 budget request for funding.
Officially designated as the AGM-183 ARRW (Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon), this hypersonic missile development program is one of the most significant for the U.S. Air Force and defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Within the global context of advances made by other countries, the project represented one of the United States’ responses to the hypersonic developments achieved by the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.
However, test launches conducted from late 2022 through 2023 yielded ambiguous results, leading the previous administration under President Joe Biden to pause the program and reduce its funding, leaving the future of the ARRW uncertain and without a clear direction.
During the first test, details were provided on the process by which the ARRW was released from the bomber, successfully detached, ignited, and reached speeds of Mach 5, following a planned flight path and detonating in a designated safe area. However, such details were not reported or disclosed by the U.S. Air Force following a test conducted in March 2023. In that same month, then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall informed the House Appropriations Committee that the test had not been successful.
Subsequently, in another blow to the program, Andrew Hunter—serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the USAF—also informed Congress that the service would not place additional orders with Lockheed Martin for further prototypes during Fiscal Year 2024.
Nonetheless, these setbacks and doubts surrounding the AGM-183 program did not prevent the USAF from conducting what remains the most recent ARRW launch test on October 12, when a B-52H Stratofortress took off from Edwards Air Force Base. However, the results of that test have not been disclosed.
Now, with a view to reviving the program, Allvin stated last week that the service is already working to advance both the ARRW and the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) beyond the development phase and into the acquisition stage. For his part, the U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Troy Meink, noted that hypersonic technology is now in a more mature stage than in previous years, and that the current priority is to reduce costs and move toward production.
You may also like: The United States Navy continues rotating its guided missile destroyers to conduct surveillance missions along the border with Mexico
