A defense official told Defense News that the Pentagon chose not to announce the test of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, for about two weeks to avoid igniting already sensitive tensions with Russia. The free-flight test involved the HAWC version created by Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne and released by a B-52 Stratofortress off the West Coast in mid-March, a defense official said. A DARPA statement on Tuesday said the HAWC rocket was boosted to breathe air, with the Aerojet scramjet engine igniting and accelerating rapidly to speeds in excess of Mach 5. DARPA said it maintained that speed for an extended period of time, reaching altitudes above 65,000 feet and flying for more than 300 nautical miles. Details of the test and why it was not immediately announced were initially reported by CNN. The defense official said the HAWC test took place shortly after Russia said it had used one of its own supersonic weapons against Ukraine and was in the same week as President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe, which began on March 23. He compared the Pentagon’s decision not to immediately disclose the test with its decision to postpone the test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in early March. The ICBM test was delayed after Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country’s nuclear forces on high alert and the Pentagon said it wanted to avoid any possible misunderstandings about the Minuteman test. Air Force Gen. Todd Wolters, head of the U.S. Command in Europe, confirmed at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week that Russia had fired several supersonic weapons at targets in Ukraine. DARPA said the March test marked the second successful flight for HAWC, following a Raytheon Technologies missile test in September 2021. Andrew Knoedler, HAWC Program Director at DARPA Tactical Technology Office, said the program is now analyzing data from flight tests. The story goes on “This Lockheed Martin HAWC flight test successfully demonstrated a second design that will allow our warriors to competitively select the right skills to dominate the battlefield,” Knoedler said. “These achievements increase the level of technical maturity for HAWC’s transition to a record service program.” Ultrasonic weapons can travel at enormous speeds, more than five times the speed of sound, and are extremely flexible. Because they are able to change course in mid-flight, they are much more difficult to detect and shoot down than conventional ballistic missiles, enabling them to penetrate enemy defenses. The successful test gives the Air Force supersonic a victory after a series of failures. The Air Force’s main supersonic program, the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, saw test failures and delays in 2021 that pushed Congress to raise nearly $ 161 million in commission funds in its 2022 expenditure account. half of this amount research and development. The proposed Air Force budget for fiscal year 2023 seeks to increase funding for supersonic prototypes, but does not require funding for supplies next year.
