The American company Square One Systems Design has tested a prototype of the MHU-TSX robotic charging system. It should help to install heavy hypersonic weapons on bombers.
Although the US Air Force does not have hypersonic missiles in service yet, their development is a priority for the US military. For the most part, these are large ammunition that require certain conditions of storage, transportation and loading on aircraft.
For example, AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic aeroballistic missiles will be suspended on Hercules pylons with a maximum load capacity of up to nine thousand kilograms. Each pylon will be designed for three ARRW. The first missile carriers should be B-52 bombers.
According to Mike Black, the head of the ammunition modernization department of the US Air Force Global Strikes Command, the equipment that is currently used to load ammunition on aircraft is already 50-60 years old. It is not compatible with the new, heavier hypersonic weapons.
Square One Systems Design demonstrated the capabilities of a prototype of the MHU-TSX robotic charging system together with a B-52 bomber on September 15. It has been developed since the spring of 2019. So far, the goal of the tests was to collect feedback from the military in order to make changes to the development. It is not specified how long it will take to develop the final version.
The Drive notes that the MHU-TSX can help the US Air Force reduce the number of employees needed to maintain bombers. This would be especially true for missions on poorly prepared sites.
The US Air Force also assigns robots to other work that is usually performed by humans. Earlier we wrote about robot cleaners who clean F-16 fighters in the 149th aviation regiment.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva