High-Speed Warhead Tested at Holloman

Members of the 846th Test Squadron at Holloman AFB, N.M., conducted a test of a Kinetic Energy Projectile warhead at the base’s high-speed test track, according to a Pentagon release. The Oct. 23 test supported the Pentagon’s efforts to develop a conventional precision global strike weapon. During the test, the sled accelerated the warhead to speeds of more than three times the speed of sound, states the Oct. 25 release. The test “demonstrated that the warhead functions in a flight-representative environment,” said Susan Hurd, special assistant to the Pentagon’s director of strategic warfare. The test also collected data to “update and verify our computer modeling and simulation codes that enable us to predict warhead performance,” she said. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory designed and developed the warhead. The CPGS concept calls for a weapon capable of flying at hypersonic speeds to strike targets quickly and precisely in difficult-to-reach places around the globe. (AFPS report by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.)