Here’s What’s Next in U.S. Hypersonic Efforts as Air Force Scraps ARRW

The U.S. Air Force has decided to halt the development of a boost-glide missile and focus on a hypersonic weapon powered by a scramjet following an unsuccessful test. The Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program will not undergo any further procurement once the prototyping program comes to an end, said Air Force acquisition head Andrew Hunter on Thursday. According to Mark Lewis, former head of the Pentagon’s hypersonics efforts, shrinking the size of the missile posed significant technical challenges. Nevertheless, he said that the R&D effort should not be considered a failure as the U.S. hypersonics research is making progress in various services.

The Air Force can now concentrate its efforts on developing the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) program, which is more practical and cost-effective. A hypersonic air-breathing missile using scramjet technology will cost less than other hypersonic missile efforts as the technology has been around since 2002. The Air Force ended its previous scramjet missile program in 2012, which Lewis called a mistake. 

The U.S. has been lagging behind China and Russia in hypersonic weapons development. The deployment of operational hypersonic missiles by Russia has caught the attention of U.S. lawmakers. They likened its impact to the use of the longbow at the battle of Agincourt, calling hypersonics a priority for the U.S. military. The Pentagon’s 2024 budget proposal includes a request for $11 billion to develop hypersonic weapons and defenses against them.

The remaining obstacles include building test ranges and facilities and producing high-temperature materials needed for aerospace applications to manufacture hypersonic systems. The cancellation of the ARRW is a setback for Lockheed Martin, but the exact impact on the company’s financial bottom line is unknown, as the Pentagon does not disclose detailed information about projected purchases of hypersonic weapons.

Marcus Weisgerber contributed to this report.