Jane Edwards
The U.S. Air Force decided to drop the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon program and opted to advance work on the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon initiative amid budget pressures, Defense News reported Monday.
Lockheed Martin is working on the two hypersonic development programs under two contracts awarded in 2018. The company received in August 2018 a potential $480M contract to design a weapons system under the ARRW program four months after it was awarded the $928M HCSW contract.
Ann Stefanek, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, said the ARRW system features a more “unique glide body design" compared with the other program. ARRW is slated to reach early operational capability in fiscal year 2022.
Stefanek added the service informed Lockheed that work on the HCSW program will end upon the completion of a critical design review in the spring.
