Pentagon Awards Lockheed $989M Hypersonic Weapon Contract

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract worth $989 million to develop a hypersonic weapon named Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), for the United States Air Force (USAF).

The deal, announced Monday, includes ARRW critical design review, test and production readiness support.  The contract modification will definitize the contract terms, specifications and price, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The weapon is expected to travel at Mach 5 or higher, to overcome enemy defenses. The target to develop a hypersonic weapon is set for 2021, with initial operational capability scheduled to be achieved by fiscal 2022.

The USAF performed the maiden flight test of ARRW hypersonic weapon on a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft in June 2019.

Work for the current contract expected to be completed by December 31, 2022.

In addition, Lockheed Martin is already working on Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW) program. HCSW is a hypersonic boost glide development and test program capable of launch from a B-52 with the ability to penetrate long-range air defense areas.