President John F. Kennedy directs that the Northrop SM-62 Snark missile be phased out as it is “obsolete and of marginal military value.” The main reason the Snark, the Air Force’s first and only air breathing intercontinental cruise missile, is to be retired is that ballistic missiles are proving more practical and considerably more accurate.
The Air Force conducted its first successful test of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, on May 14, snapping a streak of three consecutive failed tests and giving the beleaguered hypersonics program a much needed boost. Off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A ARRW separated from the wing…