On June 12, the U.S. Air Force successfully conducted the first test of the AGM-183A Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) on a B-52H bomber at Edwards Air Force Base in California. According to USAF, this initial test employed a “sensor-only” prototype and was used to collect data on drag and vibration impacts both on...
On February 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the country’s development of the Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile at his state of the nation address. President Putin said the missile will travel at Mach 9 (2.06 km/s) and will have a range of 1,000 km. Compatible with the Kalibr missile system, the Tsirkon will be ship-launch...
On November 6, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) unveiled its new short-range hypersonic antiship ballistic missile, called CM-401, at the Zhuhai Air Show. The weapon system was displayed at the Air Show in both ground- and ship-launched platforms. According to the description of the displayed missile system, the CM-401 has a maximum...
On October 29, TASS news agency reported that Russia’s Avangard hypersonic weapon system will be deployed by the end of 2019, according to a defense industry source. The Russian Defense Ministry has stated that the hypersonic missile would be placed on combat duty in the Red Banner Missile Division in the Orenburg Region in southwest...
On October 22, the U.S. Army confirmed its collaboration with the Navy, the Air Force, and the Missile Defense Agency to develop hypersonic weapons, amid developments in hypersonic missile testing in Russia and China. According to the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), the three armed services and the MDA are collaborating on a...
In a video released on September 21, the Chinese military conducted a test of three hypersonic boost glide vehicles. The wedge-shaped vehicles were lifted aloft in a launcher carried by a high altitude balloon and appear to have been released in a vertical orientation. The status of China’s hypersonic boost glide vehicle development is unknown,...
On September 19, Kyodo News reported that Japan has allocated $57 million for research and development of a hypersonic missile. The Defense Ministry plans to build a scramjet engine prototype capable of Mach 5 speeds and to explore new technologies for fuel combustion during high-speed flight. Preliminary plans for the missile’s testing period are set...
On October 30, the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Systems Program (SSP) tested a prototype conventional prompt strike missile with a modified Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) boost-glide vehicle. The test, titled Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike Flight Experiment-1 (CPS FE-1), was conducted on behalf of the Department of Defense at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii....
