The US Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $694 million contract to begin production of its first hypersonic missile, the AGM-183A ARRW. The missile is intended for B-52 and B-1 bombers, with a range of ~1,600 km. ARRW is a true hypersonic push-glide weapon. It releases a maneuverable glide vehicle traveling above Mach 5 on a non-ballistic trajectory. The few true hypersonic weapons fall into two main categories: Glide Boost: American ARRW and Dark Eagle, Chinese DF-17 and YJ-17, Russian Avangard. Hypersonic cruise: Russian Zircon, Chinese YJ-19 and American HACM (still under development). Missiles such as the Turkish Typhoon, the Russian Kinzhal and Orshnik are instead ballistic or aeroballistic weapons. Getting to Mach 5 doesn't make them revolutionary - Germany's V-2 did in 1944.

The US Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $694 million contract to begin production of its first hypersonic missile, the AGM-183A ARRW. The missile is intended for B-52 and B-1 bombers, with a range of ~1,600 km. ARRW is a true hypersonic push-glide weapon. It releases a maneuverable glide vehicle traveling above Mach 5 on a non-ballistic trajectory. The few true hypersonic weapons fall into two main categories: Glide Boost: American ARRW and Dark Eagle, Chinese DF-17 and YJ-17, Russian Avangard. Hypersonic cruise: Russian Zircon, Chinese YJ-19 and American HACM (still under development). Missiles such as the Turkish Typhoon, the Russian Kinzhal and Orshnik are instead ballistic or aeroballistic weapons. Getting to Mach 5 doesn't make them revolutionary - Germany's V-2 did in 1944.