The AGM-183 hypersonic missile was successfully launched for the first time by a US B-52 aircraft, overcoming the weapon’s earlier failures in tests.
The AGM-183A supersonic missile was tested last weekend in the airspace off the coast of California, but the results were only released today. The projectile’s quick thrust stage engages and operates within the estimated time after detaching from the B-52 aircraft, allowing the missile to move at 5 times the speed of sound, according to the US Air Force. paragraph.
After numerous failures during testing, this is the first time the AGM-183A missile has been successfully launched by the US Air Force from a B-52 bomber.
The prototype bullet failed to disengage from the B-52 bomber during the first test in April 2021. The AGM-183A disengaged from the aeroplane during the second test in July 2021 and successfully showed the start-up process, but the rocket engine did not fire.
The projectile continued to misfire during the December 2021 test, prompting the B-52 bomber crew to abort the firing order. The rocket was returned to the factory for analysis of flight parameters and data in order to determine the root of the problem.
Following the most successful test, the US Air Force intends to undertake additional launches to show the AGM-183A missile’s combat capabilities before mass production.
In addition to the US’s hypersonic weapons programmes, AGM-183, also known as Aircraft Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), is one of the US Air Force’s hypersonic missile programmes. other services, in order to bridge the gap with competitors such as Russia and China in this field.
The AGM-183 is dropped like a regular bomb from an aircraft, and then the rocket engine kicks in to help the warhead attain the proper speed and height. The protective shell will subsequently open, and the warhead will accelerate to over 6,000 km/h as it approaches the target. AGM-183s can be carried by up to four B-52 bombers.
The AGM-183 was created by Lockheed Martin and is designed to kill “high-value targets,” according to the US Air Force. The AGM-183 is expected to allow US forces to strike heavily defended ground targets swiftly.
The US Air Force is also testing Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missiles (HACMs) and partnering with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create Hypersonic Weapons. powerplant that is naturally aspirated (HAWC).
Other US military services are working on hypersonic weapons with varying capacities to meet their needs. The US Navy is working on a conventional flash attack system that uses the same hypersonic glide vehicle as the army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).
