Washington. July 8. INTERFAX-The US Air Force conducted a test detonation of a conventional warhead of an AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic air-launched missile, it follows from the message of military representatives of the Elgin Air Base (Florida).
"Recently, the 780th Test Squadron (Elgin - IF Air Base) successfully detonated the warhead of the AGM-183A air-based rapid reaction weapon for the first time," the report says.
It is noted that as part of the first test detonation of a warhead, data on the lethality of this missile was obtained.
According to the test leader of the 780th Squadron, David Spiker, the unique nature and shape of the warhead required many innovations for the test.
The US Air Force may conduct a test launch of a promising AGM-183A ARRW air-based hypersonic missile over the eastern Pacific Ocean as early as next Saturday, according to an international navigation warning for seafarers.
According to the coordinates of the three closed areas, the launch is planned to be carried out from the Point Mugu landfill zone near California. The distance between the first and last districts is 1.6 thousand km.
According to the design data, the AGM-183A hypersonic missile, created under the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program, has a range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km).
As reported by the US Air Force, the attempt of the first flight test of the prototype of the American hypersonic air-launched missile AGM-183A ARRW, undertaken on April 5, ended in failure.
Due to technical problems, the rocket did not launch from the B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber. The launch was also supposed to be carried out from the area above the Point Mugu test site near California.
"The US Air Force failed during the first flight test of a hypersonic weapon on April 5, due to technical problems, the launch vehicle did not launch," the message said at the time.
During the test, it was planned to check the operation of the accelerator, and not the entire system as a whole. The purpose of the test was to test the ability of the accelerator to reach its design speed, the reliability of its separation from the hypersonic gliding combat unit, flight controllability, as well as the safety of launching a rocket after dropping from a bomber. As part of the test, an independent flight of the mock-up of the combat unit was not provided. After separating from the carrier, it was supposed to collapse in the air.
The US Air Force plans to receive the first 12 AGM-183A air-launched hypersonic missiles in the next fiscal year, although the complex has not yet passed any successful aviation tests. For the purchase of weapons, $161 million will be allocated in the defense budget for 2022 (starting on October 1).
The AGM-183A hypersonic missile has a speed from Mach 6.5 to Mach 8. Missiles of this type are planned to be primarily equipped with B-52H strategic bombers, each of which will be able to carry four AGM-183A.