The US successfully launched the AGM-183A hypersonic missile for the first time from the B-52 . flying fortress

According to Reuters news agency, the test launch was conducted on May 14 in a coastal area in southern California (USA). The missile launched from the B-52 is called the Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) AGM-183A.

“After detaching from the aircraft, the ARRW’s thrusters were activated and operated within the expected time, achieving supersonic speeds 5 times greater than the speed of sound,” the US Air Force said in a statement. know.

This is the first time the AGM-183A has been successfully launched by the US Air Force from the B-52 “flying fortress”, after many failures in previous test launches.

The first test launch in April 2021 had a problem when the model rocket did not separate from the B-52 aircraft. In the second test launch, which took place in July 2021, the missile separated from the aircraft and fully demonstrated the start-up process, but the rocket engine did not activate.

During the test launch in December 2021, ARRW continued to malfunction, causing the B-52 crew to cancel the order to fire. The missile is then returned to the factory for analysis of flight parameters and data to find out the cause of the problem.

AGM-183A is one of the hypersonic missile programs being carried out by the US Air Force, in addition to the hypersonic weapons projects of other services, to close the gap in this field with Russia and Russia. China.

The US Air Force said that the ARRW AGM-183A, built by Lockheed Martin Corporation, specializes in destroying “high-value targets”. This weapon is assessed to allow US forces to quickly attack heavily defended targets on the ground.

After the latest successful test launch, the US Air Force is expected to conduct more test launches to test the combat capabilities of ARRW AGM-183A before being put into mass production.

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