Data loss threatens to derail US hypersonic missile programme
Lockheed Martin's hypersonic missile prototype suffered a setback when its data link failed, causing the loss of crucial in-flight performance data during its second test flight.
Lockheed Martin Corp.’s second test flight of its hypersonic missile prototype failed to transmit in-flight performance data, according to two sources, which is a setback for US efforts to keep up with China and Russia in a vital weapons capability. The loss of data was not included in a statement by the US Air Force on March 24, which stated that the test had met several objectives.
During the exercise, the warhead was released from a B-52H bomber off the southern coast of California and separated from its rocket booster before the data link transmitting in-flight performance information failed.
The transmission loss means that the telemetry data, essential for helping the Pentagon understand the missile’s flight characteristics, was lost. The flight team is conducting a failure analysis to determine whether the problem was caused by a faulty data link or resulted from a flaw in the glider warhead.
The prototype missile, known as the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), is the top hypersonic programme for the US Air Force and is designed to compete with Russian and Chinese programmes that have already been successful. Four successful test flights of the prototype missile are necessary to provide the confidence needed to declare that the weapon has an early operational capability and can proceed into production.
The first test of an “All-up Round” was completed successfully in December, but this transmission failure is a setback to the second of four tests that are planned for the operational hypersonic missile. Lockheed Martin has said that it is committed to developing hypersonic technology on an accelerated timeline to meet critical national security needs.
ARRW is one of three major Pentagon hypersonic weapons programmes, and it was initially viewed as the most advanced. The Navy and Army have their own projects.
China and Russia have already deployed highly manoeuvrable weapons that can fly at extremely high speeds, and Russia has used them during its invasion of Ukraine. A Defense Intelligence Agency official this month said that China is ahead of Russia in hypersonic weapons development and may already have deployed a weapon capable of hitting US bases in the Pacific.
In addition, China is pursuing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a hypersonic glide warhead that has been tested since 2014.
The Congressional Research Service has stated that the US Air Force has repeatedly pushed back the timeline for the hypersonic missile and that it could be operational as early as this autumn.
Three previous booster-test failures of a development-model ARRW disrupted plans for the missile to enter production last year, but they were eventually successful. The Pentagon had hoped to declare the US’s first combat-capable hypersonic weapon by September 30, 2022.
(With agency inputs)
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First Published:29 Mar 2023, 06:12 AM IST
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