U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin Complete Another Successful Hypersonics Test
Marks the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon’s First Flight Fully-Assembled
The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin successfully flight tested the second AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) on the service’s B-52 Stratofortress out of Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Aug. 8, 2020.
This captive carry flight was conducted with tactical hardware and fully instrumented to collect thermal, mechanical and digital data from the flight vehicle. This is the first time a tactical ARRW missile has been assembled. Additional ground and flight testing will follow over the next two years.
“The team overcame significant challenges driven by the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve this significant milestone for the program,” said Dave Berganini, ARRW program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This captive carry mission is the pre-cursor for our first booster test flight planned for early 2020s.”
Photo credited to U.S. Air Force
Going Mach 5, or over 60 miles per minute, creates a number of complex engineering and physics challenges which is why Lockheed Martin leverages expertise and technology from across the corporation to tackle these challenges with speed, agility and ingenuity. As one of the Department of Defense’s highest technical priorities, our scientists and engineers are developing game-changing hypersonic solutions.
Hypersonic weapons and air and missile defense are key priorities of the United States Department of Defense's National Defense Strategy and Missile Defense Review.
Lockheed Martin has invested in developing and demonstrating hypersonic technology for over 30 years. As a result of this investment, we are at the forefront of operationalizing hypersonic capabilities, systems and engineering.
We are combining our leadership in missile defense, space and advanced materials, which is a combination no other company possesses. Lockheed Martin is uniquely situated to be able to deliver hypersonic strike systems as well as the ability to detect, track and defeat hypersonic threats.
We continue to lead the development of these emerging technologies in support of our customer's missions as new threats emerge.
Hypersonic Weapon Systems
Advanced missile and hypersonic vehicle technologies will enhance end-to-end strike force systems, increasing the potential for deterring future threats.
Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW)
The Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program matures critical technologies to high speed flight and accelerates the weaponization of Hypersonic strike capabilities. The ARRW program brings corporation-wide experience in design, manufacturing, integration and test, and fielding of complex technologies to our customers in the Department of Defense.
Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS)
IRCPS is a hypersonic boost glide missile development and test program that enables longer range, shorter time of flight and high survivability against enemy defenses.
Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)
LRHW will leverage the common hypersonic glide body and introduce a new class of ultrafast and maneuverable long-range missiles with the ability to launch from ground mobile platforms.
Hypersonic Defenses
Hypersonic systems operate at speeds that require rapid reaction and accurate response. We are developing technology that is incredibly fast and precise to defend the nation and our allies against hypersonic threats. Hypersonic defensive capabilities require a multi-layered approach across all phases of flight detection, tracking and interception. Integration and interoperability are vital elements to connect each layer of this architecture.
Hypersonic defense systems are an urgent priority for America’s missile defense enterprise. Lockheed Martin is investing in and leveraging expertise across our company to meet our customers’ hypersonic defense missions and make them a reality.
Hypersonic Advantages
Hypersonic systems provide advantages in terms of speed to target, maneuverability and survivability to reach hard and well-defended targets.
Solving Hypersonic Challenges
Hypersonic systems are a game-changer for national security. Creating hypersonic technology presents several tough, complex engineering challenges. Hypersonic systems will travel at Mach 5 and potentially even faster. To give you an idea, at Mach 5, you’re traveling over a mile per second. Creating a system that fast means overcoming a number of difficult engineering and physics challenges:
Heat
At hypersonic speeds, friction and air resistance create an incredible amount of heat, which needs to be managed through tough but lightweight heat shields and thermal protection systems. Sensors and electronics must also be hardened to withstand extreme conditions.
Innovative Materials
Managing extreme heat and speed means applying advanced materials and composites that can withstand extreme environments.
Maneuverability
Hypersonic systems are designed to operate in contested environments and must be capable of overcoming a wide range of defenses.
Accuracy
A system moving at a mile every second needs to operate with an incredible degree of precise maneuverability.
Communication
Basic operations, like communications, become a significant challenge during hypersonic flight. A system must maintain connectivity to operators and decision-makers through a global communications and sensor systems.
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technologies
Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence
There’s no doubt that on the battlefield and at home, autonomy and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly becoming part of our daily human experience. We are building AI systems that will keep people in control while enabling them to be safer, and increase mission success in the toughest and most unpredictable of situations.
Directed Energy
Directed Energy systems use highly-focused energy to disable targets with pinpoint accuracy. Our engineers are at the forefront of transforming high-power laser technology developed for factories into inventive and cost-effective defense capabilities for our customers.
Multi-Domain Operations
For more than a decade, we’ve worked alongside the Department of Defense to develop systems, mature critical technologies, and explore concepts of operations that will enable Multi-Domain Operations. We’re focused on connecting systems by ensuring every element is a collector, a sharer and a learner to move decision-quality data faster than ever before, allowing our military forces to create multiple, simultaneous, complex problems at a speed our adversaries cannot match.