The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile will have its first test flight this fall, a yearlong delay from previous plans, according to Air Force budget documents. A possible plan to delete some test flights to save time and money seems to have been dropped.
HACM
Air Force Pushes Ahead with 2 Hypersonic Missile Programs By John A. Tirpak The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) is delayed and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the...
By the time the 2026 defense budget request arrived on Capitol Hill in June, Congress was closing in on passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, a massive tax-and-spending bill that included some $150 billion for defense. The budget reconciliation measure narrowly passed the ...
New B-1 Pylon Creates ‘Hypersonic Testbed’ By John A. Tirpak The Air Force has begun using a new Boeing pylon to test a variety of weapons on the B-1 Lancer, the 412th Test Wing announced in August, and now has a...
Airpower is a desired capability that everybody wants. Because it’s asymmetric, with a little bit of airpower, you can create a lot of effects.
The Air Force expects to start test-flying the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile starting this fall, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Tests will iterate the design and continue until 2027, at which point HACM will transition to a major defense program ...
Congress is mandating biennial updates on the Pentagon’s strategy for developing, buying, and fielding offensive and defensive hypersonic systems, according to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which is poised to pass both chambers this week. They also want a plan identifying overland test ranges ...
Kendall has posited a force of at least 1,000 CCAs, with the first ones ready for duty within the next six years. That timeline demands a robust and fast-paced test program.
The Air Force announced it conducted another test of the AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile on Aug. 19. But while the service said the event provided useful data, it declined to say whether the vehicle hit its planned target and did not ...
Northrop Grumman has opened a new facility in Elkton, Md. to build air-breathing hypersonic engines and other elements of hypersonic missiles.
The Air Force’s primary platform for air attack against the most heavily defended targets will be the sixth-generation B-21 Raider, featuring a degree of stealth “orders of magnitude” stealthier than the B-2A Spirit it will replace.
Air Force leaders have already said they are shifting their focus away the hypersonic Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). Now, the program may not get funding to complete a final few tests if the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee gets his way. In ...
