US carries out two successful hypersonic missile tests

The AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) had its second consecutive successful test on Tuesday after a series of testing failures earlier in the program. An Air Force program, the ARRW is a boost-glide system that uses a rocket to accelerate a missile to hypersonic speeds before releasing a hypersonic glider which coasts toward the target at speeds in excess of Mach 5.

The program has had a troubled testing history with three consecutive test failures before a successful test in May.

The Air Force did not specify how fast the ARRW flew or what distance it traveled, but it said the missile reached hypersonic speeds and met its primary and secondary objectives. The Air Force will begin testing of the complete system for the first time later this year, called an all-up-round test.

In addition to the successful test of the ARRW, the Pentagon also conducted a successful test of the OpFires missile. The Operational Fires program is run by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It was the first flight test of the ground-based hypersonic boost-glide system, which is designed to be launched from a standard military truck, DARPA said.