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US Air Force says it will test bizarre 'hypersonic' weapon this month
space.com ^ | 3/16/21 | Rafi Letzter

Posted on 03/17/2021 9:02:15 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal

At some point in the next few weeks, a B-52H bomber will carry a missile high into the air and launch it at an unprecedented velocity toward its target, according to the U.S. Air Force. If everything goes according to plan, that missile will accelerate to more than five times the speed of sound before deploying a dummy second stage that will promptly "disintegrate" somewhere in the atmosphere.

The missile, known as AGM-183A, is supposed to be the first hypersonic weapon — or Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) — in the U.S. arsenal. It should move so quickly through the atmosphere — about 20 times the speed of sound — at such low altitudes that it's impossible for enemy missile defense systems to shoot out of the air. And its speed means that it can be useful for destroying "high-value, time-sensitive targets," the Air Force said in a statement.

Hypersonic missile designs, including this one, typically involve two stages.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: agm183a; arrw; b52h; hypersonicmissile; military; test; usaf
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To: Candor7

Just think if Obama was still in office, and running his drone strike war, how many more civilian casualties he would have racked up with these babies.


41 posted on 03/17/2021 10:12:08 AM PDT by shotgun
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To: plain talk

Sounds like their giving it the Jimmah Cahtah Nuetron Bomb “humanity treatment” test.


42 posted on 03/17/2021 10:13:41 AM PDT by shotgun
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To: allendale
"Begs the question: Does enough of a common consensus of values continue to exist in the American nation among its people that enough rational men are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice on its behalf to preserve it?"

Profound thought. Perhaps America is truly no longer a sovereign nation state in the classical sense. Perhaps Trump was the last stand to stop the barbarians at the gates

43 posted on 03/17/2021 10:15:20 AM PDT by buckalfa (I have forgotten more than I ever knew.)
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To: Rebelbase

Because it’s difficult.


44 posted on 03/17/2021 10:18:18 AM PDT by Reynoldo (BurnLootMurder)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

So why is it labelled ‘bizarre’ in the title?


45 posted on 03/17/2021 10:26:31 AM PDT by Kevmo (WTF? My tagline disappeared.)
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To: I-ambush
It’s too phallic. We should make ring-shaped missiles.

Secretary of Transportation thinks its fabulous.
46 posted on 03/17/2021 10:28:28 AM PDT by Old Yeller
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

So which is it ?
Mach 5 or Mach 20?


47 posted on 03/17/2021 10:31:09 AM PDT by Kozak (The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.)
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To: Rebelbase

It didn’t. The hypersonic and above were classified. Area 51.


48 posted on 03/17/2021 10:31:22 AM PDT by Kevmo (WTF? My tagline disappeared.)
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To: Da Coyote

I thought it was bizarre that they called it bizarre, and wondered what makes a hypersonic weapon bizarre in the first place. 8>)


49 posted on 03/17/2021 10:32:00 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Red Badger

... but it probably needs some sort of integrated targeting & sensor network. The weakness with long-range weapons is always the inaccuracy of your targeting data. The problem with high speed weaponry is that the margin of error is exceedingly small. Miss that last turn in toward the target by a fraction of a degree and you literally miss by miles.


50 posted on 03/17/2021 10:35:40 AM PDT by Tallguy
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

bizarre ‘hypersonic’ weapon this month

The word ‘bizarre’ is not in the article title - which is: US hypersonic missile test.

here is nothing bizarre about these weapons.


51 posted on 03/17/2021 10:38:01 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: grey_whiskers

Boeing engineers been working on a hypersonic missile since the mid-60’s. Warhead can be conventional or even just a chunk of metal because of the kinetic energy on impact is devastating.


52 posted on 03/17/2021 10:39:51 AM PDT by Hulka
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To: I-ambush

Yeah, and it’s white too.


53 posted on 03/17/2021 10:40:12 AM PDT by skimbell
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To: allendale

Good insight.


54 posted on 03/17/2021 10:42:21 AM PDT by Kevmo (WTF? My tagline disappeared.)
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To: GardenerForLife

Drag and friction can be ameliorated by using a laser to create a plasma in front of a projectile, reducing resistance and therefore drag for the missile to travel through.

Powered by the energy produced by the rocket motor, it is achievable. Don’t ask how I know....


55 posted on 03/17/2021 10:45:45 AM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War" )
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To: Magnum44

1.0 is a BC equivalent of a bullet in free space.
it does not slow down in one mile. or 1,000 miles.

of course, 1.0 is not the BC of the glider.

But .8 is not out of the realm of plausibility. Long, heavy and precisely machined. In the thin stratosphere it can be hypersonic for quite a distance.

Put that in your ballistic calculator and let us know the precise result?


56 posted on 03/17/2021 11:08:35 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal; All
This article is idiotic.
The Boeing X-51 Waverider is an unmanned research scramjet experimental aircraft for hypersonic flight at Mach 5 (3,300 mph; 5,300 km/h) and an altitude of 70,000 feet (21,000 m). The aircraft was designated X-51 in 2005. It completed its first powered hypersonic flight on 26 May 2010. After two unsuccessful test flights, the X-51 completed a flight of over six minutes and reached speeds of over Mach 5 for 210 seconds on 1 May 2013 for the longest duration powered hypersonic flight.
So, there has already been a successful test and it isn't bizarre.
57 posted on 03/17/2021 11:17:44 AM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken )
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To: I-ambush

Do you know the difference between a tube and a Dutchman with an absurd sense of humor?


58 posted on 03/17/2021 11:21:48 AM PDT by null and void (The media decides what news you can see and NOT SEE. But don't you dare call 'em Not-Sees)
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To: Mariner
I think your definition is not consistent with the folks at Hornady. I see one calculator that lets you go to BC 1.2, though again, I have never seen anything I am reloading at better than .6 or .7

From Wiki:

Almost all rounds have a ballistic coefficient of less than 1.0, but large rounds like the 50 BMG can exceed this normal BC. The higher the number, the less drag the projectile will experience. But a higher ballistic coefficient doesn't necessarily mean it is a better bullet.

My point was that even using highly optimistic numbers, a glider is not much value as a missile.

Please feel free to do your own homework and post. I am not here to be the answer guy to everyones questions.

59 posted on 03/17/2021 11:23:13 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic...)
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To: skimbell
Yeah, and it’s white too.

Shouldn't it be smaller?

60 posted on 03/17/2021 11:25:44 AM PDT by null and void (The media decides what news you can see and NOT SEE. But don't you dare call 'em Not-Sees)
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