TWZ: US Air Force delivers hypersonic weapons to Guam

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Recently, a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber armed with hypersonic weapons appeared at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. This was reported by The War Zone on March 1, citing photographs of the American military.

The publication notes that the images published by the US Air Force show a “strategist” under the wing of which there is an AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) missile during an exercise. Moreover, this public demonstration of ammunition at a strategic site occurred despite the fact that the US Air Force announced its intention to curtail the program in 2023.



This circumstance, according to the publication, raises new questions about the increasingly ambiguous future of these weapons. It was noted that there are two yellow stripes on the ammunition, which means that what is shown is not a mock-up or even an inert missile, but a combat complex ready for use.

Photos of a combat AGM-183A, identified by the presence of two yellow stripes painted on the front and rear of the weapon, were published along with a brief news Air Force report of what was described as "hypersonic weapons familiarization training" on Andersen on February 27. One of the pictures also shows the serial number of the missile AR-AUR-005

– is specified in the publication material.

TWZ: US Air Force delivers hypersonic weapons to Guam

B-52 crews from several units took part in the familiarization exercise in Guam. Representatives from the 23rd Expeditionary Bombardment Squadron at Minot AFB in North Dakota and the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana were present.

It is unclear why the ARRW, and live ammunition at that, was brought to Guam for this training. There is currently no indication that the Air Force intends to conduct live-fire testing of the ARRW from Guam, but it is possible. Such a test would be a show of force in the Pacific that would send a signal to potential adversaries, especially China, as well as allies and partners

– the publication describes the situation.


The AGM-183A ARRW missile consists of two parts: a combat hypersonic glide glider (a glide vehicle that, according to unofficial statements, is capable of accelerating to Mach 20 in dense layers of the atmosphere) at the front and a large rocket booster at the rear. At the same time, the US Air Force Representative answered some of the publication’s questions that related to training events in Guam and the ARRW program.

The AGM-183 ARRW is currently in the operational testing phase. The Air Force completed three of four planned test flights. The decision on production has not yet been made

– said a representative of the US Air Force.

The publication explained that the three test flights refer to events that took place in March, August and October 2023. At the same time, a representative of the US Air Force refused to confirm or deny plans to conduct live-fire tests from Guam, the media concluded.
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  1. twice-born
    twice-born
    0
    2 March 2024 23: 21
    Have the Americans already acquired hyper-super-duper sonic weapons?! This is when they “downhill from the pusher” accelerated their “cart” to Mach 10?!
    Well, two reporting lines are easier to draw than to create a real hypersonic missile!
    1. ALCA056000
      ALCA056000
      -3
      3 March 2024 13: 15
      Hey, liberda, start yelling that these are all Deadbidon cartoons laughing
  2. Dust
    Dust
    +1
    2 March 2024 23: 38
    glide vehicle, which, according to unofficial statements, is capable of accelerating to Mach 20 in dense layers of the atmosphere

    Six months ago, hypersonic weapons were tested in the United States. Then they tried to bring the glider to MAX 5-7, but the tests were unsuccessful. Six months have passed and they are already going to test MAX 20. For 30 years, the United States has not been able to solve the problem with hypersound. And here you are...for six months!
  3. etoyavsemprivet
    etoyavsemprivet
    0
    3 March 2024 01: 05
    Oh, I'm afraid, I'm afraid. Judging by the photos at Mach 20 it’s a bit thin, but at 19 or 19,5 it’s just right :))).
  4. mik5966
    mik5966
    0
    3 March 2024 07: 41
    Drawing stripes is a piece of cake. Show us the tests, otherwise it will be like with British missiles - two hundred meters of flight and flat in the sea. The minister was almost killed. This is becoming a tradition.
  5. svoroponov
    svoroponov
    0
    3 March 2024 12: 23
    The Americans have planning blocks - gliders as a type of heads of strategic nuclear missiles. It’s just that they fly along a ballistic trajectory, it’s just that the trajectory is slightly flattened and the level is at the border of space and the atmosphere. The problem is that our hypersound is controllable at all stages of flight: the problem of control at very high speeds, including in the lower layers of the atmosphere, has been solved. Americans don't have this. And their hypersound is only in space. Upon entry there is intense braking, speed is lost, they could not solve the problem with controllability at this stage - they cannot steal our know-how. And if there is no controllability and even a loss of speed, then it is much easier to intercept this block.
    Problems with the launch of samples in the USA and their cancellation for one reason or another are far-fetched, to reassure the public, since there are problems with the devices themselves, it is not possible to solve a number of technical problems and time is needed for fine-tuning (to continue to drink funds).
    So, of course, you can draw or even paint the entire apparatus yellow, but complete tests have not yet been carried out and no one will put this missile into service.
    Although there is an example. This is when the Americans, who were developing an anti-missile system against our warheads, failed to hit the warhead simulator (two tests failed). Then they came to an agreement with the military (they gave it to someone), who gave them the flight direction and hooked it up to their simulator, the beacon to which the anti-missile missile arrived. After this, the commission accepted this anti-missile missile, which naturally was not told anything about this fraud. This was back in the 80s
    This became known 25-30 years later. Someone in the US Senate found out and tried to take up the investigation, but apparently they simply explained to him that people die and sometimes suddenly. And everything went into the sand. The same thing happened with Bradley. When they took an unusable RPG head for testing. And then during the military operations and its use by Bradley, it turned out, according to the military, very bad. The Americans even made a feature film about it. I don’t remember the name but you can find it through a search engine. Informative.
    When the F-15 was tested, problems were identified with the airframe at speeds above 1400 km per hour near the ground. It just quickly became clear later during operation. What about the tests? They did it, they knew, but they kept silent in order to receive the order. But in the future this problem was not solved.
    1. svoroponov
      svoroponov
      0
      3 March 2024 12: 43
      I can tell you a lot more about American technology, but maybe in the future. For the sake of big, very big money, no matter what kind of forgery they resorted to. Our billionaires, in their business, in comparison with them, look very, very pale, like shadows.
  6. Personal opinion
    Personal opinion
    0
    3 March 2024 19: 50
    Now let’s imagine that nuclear-equipped hypersonic weapons will appear not in Guam, but in the Baltic states and Finland. Along the border from Murmansk to Kaliningrad, by the way, without falling under START-3. Therefore, Western leaders are no longer afraid to talk about their troops in Ukraine.
  7. Pembo
    Pembo
    0
    3 March 2024 21: 07
    There are (possibly) hypersonic airjet-powered missiles. And there are simply solid-fuel rockets that also fly at hypersonic speeds where there is no air. The airborne version of such a missile is our Dagger. So the Americans cooked up their “dagger”. It has nothing to do with a rocket with a hypersonic air jet engine. Detachable warhead? Maybe. But a block with a gas jet engine? In these dimensions? This is impossible. This is a "dagger".
  8. Mongolor
    Mongolor
    0
    24 March 2024 08: 05
    Operational tests... that is, they have not yet been fully tested and put into operation? I remember we did the same thing. That is, the product is raw, which makes me happy. God grant that it remains like this or does not go into series. You can’t underestimate them... But in the ranks it’s upsetting. If Egypt had it, I wouldn’t be upset.
    1. svoroponov
      svoroponov
      0
      April 14 2024 15: 17
      They could supply it if the product passed military tests, the military were happy, but it had not yet passed state tests. Or the military requested additional functions for the product taking into account future prospects. Or they just needed a smaller series. Then they might not have accepted it into service, but would have produced it in a small series for specific needs. This was the case, for example, with the Yak-28 aircraft.