In the United States, the process of transferring the new hypersonic weapons to the first division of the Ground Forces has started. In combat, however, it can be fully used in at least a few years.
As you know, the US Ground Forces have long wanted to get a promising hypersonic weapon that can significantly expand their combat capabilities. The other day, it became known about the beginning of the transfer of the first of these systems to the US Army unit.
The start of deliveries was reported by Defense News, the Russian-language review was provided by "Gazeta.Ru». The military has already been sent the equipment necessary for training and mastering new systems. The rest of the weapons, special equipment and training complexes will be delivered to the unnamed unit by the end of this fiscal year.
As soon as the unit receives the necessary equipment, it will begin preparing for the first joint flight tests with the Navy, which are scheduled for the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year. It is also known that subsequent tests should be carried out in the fourth quarter of the 2022 fiscal year and in the second quarter of the 2023 fiscal year.
Earlier it became known about the development of the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) complex in the interests of the US Army: we could see its model last year.
LRHW Model
Image source: James Harvey
The product characteristics are not known for certain. According to information from open sources, we are talking about a solid-fuel ground-based ballistic missile equipped with a universal guided maneuverable gliding hypersonic warhead Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB). In order to unify the fleet of military equipment, a number of technical solutions for the LRHW were borrowed from the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.
Note that, in addition to the US Ground Forces, the new hypersonic weapons should be received by the US Navy and Air Force. So, back in 2019, we could see the layout of the promising Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) system, which was then carried by the B-52 strategic bomber. Subsequently, the United States conducted several more tests of the system.
Lockheed Martin AGM-183A ARRW
Image source: via t.me/nuclear_stormbringer
At different times, the media gave different data about its capabilities. According to information provided last year, the range of the missile can reach about 1,600 kilometers at a speed of combat equipment up to M=8. The information about the speed of the block M=20, obviously, does not correspond to reality, although it is too early to draw final conclusions. The initial combat readiness of the ARRW is expected to be achieved in the first half of the 2020s.
