Operational Fires (abbreviated as OpFires) is a hypersonic ground-launched system developed by DARPA for the United States Armed Forces.[2] The system deploys a boost glide vehicle. The prime contractor for the program is Lockheed Martin.[3] The missile's range is thought to be up to 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers).[4]

OpFires intends to produce a medium-range hypersonic missile that is cheaper and with less range than the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) to strike larger numbers of targets at operational ranges. It will reuse the glide body from the AGM-183 ARRW. The unique aspect of OpFires is use of a "throttleable" rocket motor, where thrust can be turned off at a desired point mid-flight instead of needing to wait until all fuel is burned to make it better able to hit a short-range target.[5]

History

The system was successfully tested in July 2022 from a Palletized Load System-based launcher vehicle at White Sands Missile Range.[3][6] The system achieved all test objectives, including first ever use of a U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) logistics truck as a medium-range missile launcher, missile canister egress, stable flight capture, and use of U.S. Army inventory artillery fire control systems to initiate the test mission. Lockheed Martin built the system, which includes a Northrop Grumman rocket motor, and conducted the test.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lockheed Martin's Hypersonic OpFires Missile Has Medium Range Covered".
  2. ^ "Operational Fires Program Successfully Completes First Flight Test". July 13, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "DARPA's OpFires programme completes first flight test". Army Technology. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "DARPA Updates on OpFires Hypersonic Missile Test". August 10, 2022.
  5. ^ DARPA’s Hypersonic OpFires Aims For Army 1,000-Mile Missile. Breaking Defense. 23 October 2020.
  6. ^ Helfrich, Emma (July 13, 2022). "The U.S. Just Racked Up Two Successful Hypersonic Missile Tests". The Drive. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  7. ^ "Operational Fires Program Successfully Completes First Flight Test". DARPA.mil. Retrieved May 6, 2023.