The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.
hypersonic testing
The Stratolaunch Talon-A2 hypersonic vehicle flew a second time in March, after a first flight in December, making it the first re-usable hypersonic test craft since the X-15, the Pentagon announced May 5. The craft is expected to increase the pace of hypersonic testing and ...
The Air Force has started using a new Boeing pylon—the Load Adaptable Modular (LAM) pylon—which should help streamline testing new weapons, particularly hypersonic weapons, as other kinds of testing consume B-52 test assets.
The Air Force conducted another test of the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile on Oct. 12, but the service is once again withholding most details. The test “focused on the ARRW’s end-to-end performance,” according to an Air Force release, although that release ...
The Air Force is adding ground and air test apparatus and developing new live-fly test ranges in anticipation of a more frequent and aggressive hypersonic test capacity, officials with the Air Force Test Center said.
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 ...
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks urged Congress to be more patient with the Defense Department as it develops new systems, like hypersonic missiles. The Pentagon sees “real resistance … on Capitol Hill” to that approach, “and so you get curtailment of programs, … concerns over ...
