US Air Force Arms Bombers With Hypersonic Missile For First Time

(Daily Star) Henry Holloway June 18 2019 War chiefs revealed the successful flight test of B-52 Stratofortresses armed with their latest weapon the ARRW. Hypersonic weapons can fly at speeds of Mach 5 or faster the equivalent of one mile per second. The tech is the latest frontier in military weapons with the US Russia and China all racing to master it. Pictures released by Edwards Air Force Base show the missile slung beneath the wing of the bomber. B-52s are the main long-range strategic bomber of the US Air Force. ARRW full name AGM-183A Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon has been developed by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The prototype was flown by the B52 to gather information of how to impacted the planes handling and how to coped with the flight. It is expected the weapon will be fully operational in 2022. Lockheed Martin was commissioned to develop the weapon in August 2018 by the Pentagon.