A new hypersonic missile is being developed by Tucson-based Raytheon unit | Business News

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The company is also involved in the Navy’s conventional hypersonic “Instant Strike” program and the Army’s long-range hypersonic weapons program, along with other classified hypersonic and counter-hypersonic programs.

Rival Lockheed Martin is developing the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), a so-called boost glide weapon that is propelled on a rocket to hypersonic speed before separating and sliding towards a target.

In total, the Pentagon has applied for $ 3.8 billion for hypersonic research for fiscal year 2022 – up from $ 3.2 billion in 2021.

However, the House Budgets Committee has proposed cutting the proposed 2022 budget of $ 161 million for the ARRW program by $ 44 million, citing testing delays.

The ARRW program suffered a setback in early April when the weapon system’s first booster flight test was not launched by a B-52 bomber off the California coast.

There’s widespread support in Congress for hypersonic missile development, but only the most promising concepts are funded, said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based political institute.

“Hypersonics is the Pentagon’s Taste of the Year, but it’s not clear if all programs are moving forward,” Thompson said.

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