STRATDELA Special Issue #4: ARRW for the USAF bow
Today STRATDELA brings you an in-depth look at the Lockheed Martin AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic air-launched missile.
Basically, the AGM-183A is an air-launched ballistic missile with a solid-propellant booster stage and a detachable and guided glide vehicle as a payload. This concept is also known as a ‘boost-glide’, reflecting its principle of operations: after launch from the carrier, it accelerates and climbs to the upper atmosphere thanks to a powerful solid propellant booster, detaches the glider and then glides (or skip-glides) on to its target.
Despite the extremely limited amount of available information in the wild, especially on technical specifications, this is the only US hypersonic programme for which we at least have pictures of “live” products — for others, despite reports of successful tests, there are only drawings, which are probably artists’ fantasies.
Development and testing history
The AGM-183A has been under development in the US, according to public records, since April 2018 as part of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon programme. In August of the same year, Lockheed Martin Corporation was awarded the contract for its development. The development of ARRW appears to be somewhat based on the joint US Air Force and DARPA TBG (“Tactical Boost Glide”) programme, which was primarily aimed at creating and testing a guided hypersonic glider — which remains the main technological risk of the programme. TBG has been underway since 2015, with Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as the main competing contractors, while its predecessor can be linked to the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-1/2 (HTV-1/2) with flight tests (HTV-2 only) in 2010–11.
Notably, in parallel, for the first two years, until February 2020, the US Air Force ran another aeroballistic boost-glide missile program, the HCSW (“Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon”), unified in glider and possibly partially in booster tech with the Army-Navy LRHW/CPS program. The programme was closed to focus efforts and resources on ARRW, the choice for the latter, reportedly, was made primarily because of mass-size characteristics (for example, the B-52 would reportedly be able to carry no more than two HCSWs, thus its use in tactical aviation could be ruled out). This theory looks reasonable, but one cannot exclude the influence of traditional US military ‘chauvinism’ and suspicion of joint inter-service programs.
In the initial phase of development, ARRW was seen as a priority USAF hypersonic program, with initial operational capability planned to be achieved as early as 2022. To implement the program in such a short timeframe, DOD and the Air Force resorted to the widely advertised “middle tier of acquisition rapid prototyping” & “middle tier of acquisition rapid fielding” effort. However, the fiasco, at least in the early stages of the programme, may instead be the Pentagon’s most powerful antidote to the “new thinking” regarding new systems development.
Between June 2019 and August 2020, at least seven B-52H flights were carried out with the AGM-183 partially equipped with electronic mock-ups (aka “sensor-only versions”), probably to test interfacing with the aircraft and the ability to transmit telemetry about future flight tests to the ground. These versions were also called “Instrumented Measurement Vehicle” and at least two were produced.
It is difficult to say exactly how long this stage of testing has been delayed, but it is safe to say that the first launches, to test the booster (without the glider) were supposed to take place before the end of 2020, which did not happen. Test launches “this month” were announced until mid-December, and then were unexpectedly postponed for many months further. The first launches were to demonstrate, quote, “a safe release from the bomber, assess booster performance, booster-shroud separation, and simulated glider separation”.
The first launch attempt, Booster Test Flight 1 (BTF-1), reportedly took place only on April 5, 2021 but the missile “did not complete its launch sequence” and did not leave the bomber’s pylon. The launch was conducted using a sample coded Booster Test Vehicle 1, BTV-1.
During the second attempt on July 28, the missile successfully completed prelaunch procedures (“full release sequence including GPS acquisition, umbilical disconnect and power transfer from the aircraft to the missile”) and separated from the pylon (during the separation operation and de-confliction maneuvers were performed), but the solid propellant engine of the booster stage failed to ignite, and the missile fell into the ocean. The test took place at Point Mugu Sea Range, off the southwest coast of the USA. Interestingly, the test unit was labeled Booster Test Vehicle 1b/BTV-1b, directly indicating the overhauled/upgraded type involved in the April test.
The third attempted flight test did not take place until December 15, 2021. Despite claims that the problems encountered during the past tests were known and understood, the next test was cancelled during the pre-launch procedures, and the B-52H returned to base again, as it had in April.
These delays and failures led to Congress refusing to allocate funds to begin the procurement of production AGM-183As — the US Air Force had budgeted for the purchase of 12 battle-ready missiles in the initial draft budget in the event of a successful test. Instead, small funds were earmarked for continued R&D and testing. SImultaneously, the major funding for the air-launched hypersonic programme is switching to the the HACM, a smaller scramjet missile. In September 2022, Raytheon has been awarded the contract for its development as the prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman as the propulsion system developer. It is expected to reach operational status in 2027–28.
However, 2022 has been relatively successful for the ARRW. The first successful test of the booster took place on May 14. It was repeated on July 12. It was announced that it would then move on to all-up-round testing.
On December 9, 2022 the first All-Up Round Test Flight, with separation of the glider from the booster stage, took place. It was reportedly successful. The US Air Force appears to have the missiles and sufficient funding for at least three more test launches, following which — if successful — the missile could again be fully funded for serial production, and manage to become the Air Force’s first deployed hypersonic missile. The next launch is scheduled for early 2023.
Technical information
Despite having — unlike most other hypersonic programmes in the US — real photographs and relative openness the real characteristics of the AGM-183A ARRW are not well known. Most of the missile’s body is occupied by a solid propellant booster. The warhead, the glider itself, is located under the payload fairing. While photos of the glider have not been revealed, the available concept art shows that it has a flattened shape unlike the C-HGB glider of the LRHW/CPS rocket complexes.
Considering the small size of the glider, it is hard to imagine there being a significant explosive charge inside, and it is likely to hit the target kinetically in the first place. This places high demands on accuracy. It is unclear whether the glider has a guidance system other than a satellite homing system and, therefore, whether it is capable of engaging mobile targets. Given the size this is unlikely. Most likely the AGM-183A is designed to hit stationary targets. The progress in speed of data transfer and intelligence can sufficiently expand the list of targets though. It is possible to imagine the use of ARRW to hit the command posts of a deployed SAM promptly revealed by ISR assets, coordinates of which were promptly transmitted to the airborne bomber on patrol.
At the moment, only the B-52H, capable of carrying up to four missiles on two underwing pylons, is a confirmed carrier. Potential carriers are the B-1B, possibly the F-15EX and in the future the B-21.
The speed obviously depends on the flight profile, but probably at peak it is well in excess of 5 Mach. The key parameter is the range, which for the AGM-183A is quoted in most public sources as “about 1600 km” (“about 1,000 miles”). However, if one looks at the source of this figure, namely the interview of Maj. Gen. Andrew Gebara, director of strategic plans, programs, and requirements for Air Force Global Strike Command for Air & Space Forces Magazine October 2020, he actually said the following:
“This thing is going to be able to go, in 10 to 12 minutes, almost 1,000 miles. It’s amazing.”
The AGM-183A ARRW is being developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation, Missile and Fire Control division, Orlando, Florida. Final production appears to be at Missile Assembly Building 4 (MAB4, which might be familiar for STRATDELA readers), Courtland, Alabama.
The booster stage developer is Aerojet Rocketdyne, Sacramento, California, recently acquired by L3Harris. It might be actually produced at their new facility near the well-known city of Huntsville.
On the modernization side of the B-52H launcher, the work is done by Boeing, Aircraft Modernization and Sustainment, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Tests are being carried out by 412th Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base in California, and the actual operations are being tried by folks from the 2nd Maintenance Group, 307th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at the Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
Conclusion
What else to say here: #Hyperhype is real, and we are entering an era of hypersonic weapons deployment and use. Air-launched systems are actually the only ones that have seen actual battle use in Ukraine, but sea- and ground-launched hypersonic weapons will soon follow suit.
This is not a revolution, but the more fancy weapons enter the Great Power Competition, the more complicated and dangerous it gets — especially given the current state of risk reduction mechanisms.
