Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept
The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC, pronounced Hawk) is a scramjet powered air-launched hypersonic cruise missile project at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), that had a successful hypersonic flight announced in September 2021.[1][2] It is a kinetic energy weapon, without an explosive warhead.[3]
| Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cruise missile Air-launched cruise missile Air-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | DARPA |
| Specifications | |
The scramjet propelled the missile at "a speed greater than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound)".[1]
The first successful flight was in September 2021.[4] Further testing was carried out in mid-March 2022, but was kept secret at the time to avoid the impression of escalation against Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3] The existence of the test was revealed in early April 2022.[3]
References
- "DARPA'S Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) Achieves Successful Flight". Darpa.mil. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- Andrew Knoedler. "Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC)". Darpa.mil. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- Oren Liebermann. "US tested hypersonic missile in mid-March but kept it quiet to avoid escalating tensions with Russia". CNN. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- "US conducts second successful HAWC hypersonic test". FlightGobal. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
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