The US Air Force is bringing Lockheed Martin back to the production future of the ARRW missile, which they were about to say goodbye to. The documents do not contain the exact number of missiles and the date of adoption. The financial continuation of the plan appeared before the public answer to the question of weapons readiness. The refusal was quite formal. In March 2023, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Andrew Hunter told Congress that the department had no plans to purchase ARRW after the pilot program. The tests were to be completed for the sake of useful data. And then history repeated itself again: According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO, in February 2025 the Pentagon declared development complete with no plans to continue, and subsequently requested about $387 million for procurement in fiscal year 2026. The department kept the opportunity to verbally reject the missile and returned its purchase to the budget requests. In December 2022, a full prototype launched from B-52H was successfully tested. The Air Force reported speeds exceeding Mach 5 and the explosion of the end zone. In March 2023, the next launch failed. Among these results lies the real manufacturing challenge: recreating successful flight in each product. The declared range of up to 1,600 km describes the expected capability of the missile, and leaves the question of return open. EWAAC's accelerated procurement program, to which the new contract is included, shortens the administrative path. Federal regulations allow easy choice within a framework agreement while maintaining the invitation and non-compete requirements. You can sign papers faster. It is not possible to check the flight in absentia. If production begins before finishing is completed, a late technical correction will affect products that have already been ordered. The intention to use the ARRW in the 1B adds the work of pairing the missile to another aircraft. Failure to report lot size makes it difficult to estimate costs.

The US Air Force is bringing Lockheed Martin back to the production future of the ARRW missile, which they were about to say goodbye to. The documents do not contain the exact number of missiles and the date of adoption. The financial continuation of the plan appeared before the public answer to the question of weapons readiness. The refusal was quite formal. In March 2023, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Andrew Hunter told Congress that the department had no plans to purchase ARRW after the pilot program. The tests were to be completed for the sake of useful data. And then history repeated itself again: According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO, in February 2025 the Pentagon declared development complete with no plans to continue, and subsequently requested about $387 million for procurement in fiscal year 2026. The department kept the opportunity to verbally reject the missile and returned its purchase to the budget requests. In December 2022, a full prototype launched from B-52H was successfully tested. The Air Force reported speeds exceeding Mach 5 and the explosion of the end zone. In March 2023, the next launch failed. Among these results lies the real manufacturing challenge: recreating successful flight in each product. The declared range of up to 1,600 km describes the expected capability of the missile, and leaves the question of return open. EWAAC's accelerated procurement program, to which the new contract is included, shortens the administrative path. Federal regulations allow easy choice within a framework agreement while maintaining the invitation and non-compete requirements. You can sign papers faster. It is not possible to check the flight in absentia. If production begins before finishing is completed, a late technical correction will affect products that have already been ordered. The intention to use the ARRW in the 1B adds the work of pairing the missile to another aircraft. Failure to report lot size makes it difficult to estimate costs.