US tests hypersonic missile in Pacific as it aims to keep up with China and Russia

CNN —

The US Air Force has tested a hypersonic cruise missile in the Pacific for the first time, in what analysts say is a signal to China that Washington still competes in a weapons arena where many perceive Beijing to have a distinct advantage.

On March 17, a B-52 bomber flying out of Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam fired “a full prototype operational hypersonic missile,” an Air Force spokesperson confirmed in a statement to CNN.

The test of the hypersonic weapon, officially called the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), was conducted at the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, almost 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) to the east of Guam, the statement said.

Previous ARRW tests have been conducted off the US mainland.

The ARRW consists of a rocket booster motor and the hypersonic glide vehicle, which carries a conventional warhead.

It is “intended to attack high-value, time-sensitive, land-based targets,” a 2021 Defense Department document says.

This picture taken on October 19, 2021 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 20, 2021 shows test fire of a new type submarine-launched ballistic missile in an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by various sources / AFP) / South Korea OUT / ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE — MANDATORY CREDIT «AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS» — NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS — DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE — / (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

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