US AIR FORCE BUDGET CUTS HYPERSONIC MISSILE PROCUREMENT IN 2022

The US Air Force’s hopes for buying its first hypersonic missiles this year appear to be dead, with Congressional appropriators halving funding for the service’s flagship hypersonic weapons program in a new fiscal 2022 omnibus spending bill.

The Air Force had requested about $161 million in the FY22 budget request to buy the first 12 AGM-183A Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) missiles from manufacturer Lockheed Martin. However, the proposed spending bill cuts about $80 million of that total, stating that procurement of the new weapon is early to need.

“Due to recent failures and delays in testing that have extended the ARRW program schedule and put a first production lot contract at risk for award in fiscal year 2022, no procurement funds are provided in this Act for ARRW,” an explanatory statement for the bill reads.

The remaining $80 million would be transferred to ARRW’s research and development account, allowing the Air Force “to support an extension of the testing program and mitigate a projected funding shortfall,” the explanatory statement said.

While the omnibus bill has yet to pass the House or Senate, the proposed legislation is the result of extensive consultations between lawmakers and there are unlikely to be changes at the programmatic level as it moves through both chambers. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week.