The Air-Launched Rapid Response weapon is getting $46.6 million in FY23 to continue development, but the future of the program remains cloudy.
By Valerie InsinnaA major overhaul is coming in software for missile warning
Space Systems Command’s FORGE program is the first, major missile-warning software modernization effort in 20 years.
“Calling it ‘breaking the laws of physics’ does not lead to rational scrutiny,” Secure World’s Victoria Samson said of the recent Chinese hypersonic test.
By Theresa Hitchens
You can imagine a reusable system that can fly around and drop payloads and come back, or a hypersonic system that can carry other hypersonic systems,” said Gillian Bussey, head of DoD’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office.
By Theresa Hitchens
“I’m not satisfied with the pace,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. “We’re making some progress on the technology; I would like to see it be better.”
By Theresa Hitchens and Aaron Mehta
SCIFiRE is aimed at maturing an air-breathing hypersonic conventional cruise missile launched from either a fighter or a bomber.
By Theresa Hitchens
If ARRW continues to fail, the service could resuscitate the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon as a fall-back, says Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, who heads AFLCMC’s Armaments Directorate.
By Theresa Hitchens
The HAC report rebukes the Air Force for a lack of transparency in shifting spending on prototyping of hypersonic missiles.
By Theresa Hitchens
Enterprise-wide training: the Army’s $3.5B program for multi-service combat readiness
The competition for Warfighter Training and Readiness Solutions will bring together training networks, combat training centers and live ranges across the DoD enterprise.
“It’s ultimately a political decision, and … this demands a strong and fully staffed OSD,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, of the American Enterprise Institute. “That doesn’t seem likely until much later this year.”
By Theresa Hitchens
GAO notes that efforts to defend against Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles are much less mature than offensive efforts, with much less funding. Only 12 of 70 projects tracked by GAO related to defenses; DoD requested $207 million in 2021 for hypersonic defense, up from $157 million in 2020.
By Theresa Hitchens “Certainly, we’re in the in the conversation for the HACM as that gets developed,” Global Strike Command head Gen. Timothy Ray said.
By Theresa Hitchens
With ground tests this year and a full-up flight test in 2023, OpFires hopes to become the Army’s long-term solution for its Mid-Range Capability missile.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. Combatant Commanders for European Command and Indo-Pacific Command see bombers with hypersonic capabilities as “incredibly, incredibly valuable,” says Gen. Timothy Ray.
By Theresa Hitchens
“How are we going to employ hypersonic weapons, what do they bring to the battlefield?,” asks Maj. Gen. Mark Weatherington, commander of the 8th Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center.
By Theresa Hitchens
The nine startups are pitching everything from composite materials to small propulsion units that can enable hypersonic (i.e. faster than Mach 5) flight.
By Theresa Hitchens
