The exact speed of the AGM-183A isn't known, although the Lockheed Martin-designed weapon is said to be based on previous test vehicles built by DARPA (opens in new tab) that have an alleged maximum speed of Mach 20, or 15,000 mph (24,000 kph).Related: DARPA's 'Glide Breaker' hypersonic missile interceptor program enters new phase"The ARRW team successfully designed and tested an air-launched hypersonic missile in five years," Brig.According to the U.S. Air Force, the missile is designed to "hold fixed, high-value, time-sensitive targets at risk in contested environments," meaning it will be used to target pre-determined assets on the ground such as fixed missile sites, radar stations, air defense installations, infrastructure facilities or even adversary headquarters buildings — basically anything important in a battlefield environment that can't be moved and needs to be destroyed quickly."You obviously don't wouldn't buy something that doesn't work," the Air Force's acquisition said about the program in July 2022, according to Breaking Defense (opens in new tab).These boost-glide vehicles do not then fall along predictable arc-shaped trajectories like ballistic missiles; instead, they glide down to their targets unpowered along a flatter trajectory and are able to execute abrupt maneuvers while in flight."