US carries out first successful full test of new hypersonic missile

The US Air Force has carried out its first successful full test of a new hypersonic missile as it looks to claw back ground in a superpower arms race with Russia and China.

The missile, an All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) was fired off the Southern California coast and travelled greater than five times the speed of sound, before detonating in a controlled area.

Launched from a B-52H Stratofortress, the test was a significant step towards the US having fully operational hypersonic weapons that could be used in conflict or as a deterrent.

China reportedly fired a hypersonic projectile around the globe in a test last year, while in May, a Russian warship test-launched a Zircon cruise missile that can travel at nine times the speed of sound.

Russia has already unleashed its latest Kinzhal hypersonic missile on Ukraine, but America’s attempts to develop the weapons have been hampered by previously failed tests.

The flight trajectory of a hypersonic missile is much flatter and lower than the high arching path of a ballistic missile, making it harder to detect and intercept.

The warhead can detach and glide towards the target at speeds of 3,800mph or more.

“The ARRW team successfully designed and tested an air-launched hypersonic missile in five years,” said Brigadier General Jason Bartolomei, Armament Directorate Program Executive Officer. “I am immensely proud of the tenacity and dedication this team has shown to provide a vital capability to our warfighter.”

The test comes after Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, vowed last week that any country which dared attack Russia with nuclear weapons would be wiped from the face of the earth.

Mr Putin said Russia had no mandate to launch a preventative first nuclear strike, unlike the United States, but that Russia's advanced hypersonic weapons would ensure it could respond forcefully if it ever came under attack.

He claimed that Russia has already commissioned hypersonic weapons capable of carrying out such a strike.

Defence contractors hope to capitalise on the shift to hypersonic weapons not only by building them but also by developing new detection and defeat mechanisms.

Arms makers including Lockheed, Northrop Grumman Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp have all touted their hypersonic weapons programs to investors as the world’s focus shifted to the new arms race for an emerging class of weapon.