Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) | |
---|---|
Type | Hypersonic air-launched cruise missile |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | In development |
Used by | United States Air Force |
Production history | |
Designer |
RTX Corporation Northrop Grumman |
Specifications | |
Engine | Scramjet |
Operational range | 1,000 nmi (1,900 km) [1] [2] |
Maximum speed | Mach 8 (9,800 km/h; 6,100 mph) [2] [3] [4] |
Launch platform | F-15E Strike Eagle [5] |
The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) is a scramjet-powered hypersonic air-launched cruise missile project, the successor of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) and the SCIFiRE hypersonic programs. [6]
Technology developed for the HAWC demonstrator was used to influence the design of the HACM, a U.S. Air Force Program of Record to create a scramjet-powered hypersonic missile it could deploy as an operational weapon. [7]
In December 2021, Raytheon Technologies was awarded a $985 million contract to continue its HACM development. [8]
The contract to develop HACM further was awarded to Raytheon in September 2022. [9] HACM will use a Northrop Grumman scramjet. [10] [11] It is designed to be smaller than the AGM-183 ARRW and able to fly along “vastly different trajectories” than the boost-glide ARRW. [12]
The system will give the US military "tactical flexibility to employ fighters to hold high-value, time-sensitive targets at risk, while maintaining bombers for other strategic targets." [5] [13] [14] [15] Following the U.S. Air Force's decision to not pursue procurement of ARRW in March 2023, the HACM became the service's only hypersonic weapon program. [16] Though the USAF confirmed that they would not be purchasing any hypersonic weapons in FY 2024, the budget request for the upcoming fiscal year includes $380 million for R&D on the HACM, [8] followed by a proposed $517 million in FY 2025. [12]