Test contracts and reusable hypersonic testbeds advancing; propulsion breakthroughs; DARPA NGHCM RFI
Key Questions
What contract did Rocket Lab recently win for hypersonic testing?
Rocket Lab secured a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for 12 HASTE suborbital launches. These will support hypersonic research and flight testing at Alaska Spaceport.
How many flights has Stratolaunch's Talon-A completed?
Stratolaunch's reusable Talon-A has completed over 10 successful hypersonic flights, reaching Mach 5. The program aims to provide lower-cost test capacity for U.S. and commercial users.
What progress has France's AndroMach made on its hypersonic drone engine?
The AndroMach Banger engine passed 21 hot-fire tests with a 7-minute burn time. This confirms reusability for the Envol hypersonic drone targeting Mach 5 at 200 km altitude.
What is the UK funding for hypersonic targets?
The UK awarded Lockheed Martin a £20 million contract for Project Bowline to develop a Mach 5 hypersonic target. A live demonstration is planned for 2027 at the Hebrides Range.
What collaboration exists between Lockheed Martin and Venus Aerospace?
Lockheed Martin and Venus Aerospace are collaborating to advance rotating detonation rocket engine technology. The goal is next-generation propulsion for long-range precision fires.
What is the Pentagon's S2MARTS solicitation focused on?
The S2MARTS solicitation seeks prototypes for next-generation hypersonics systems. It supports broader Pentagon efforts in reusable testbeds and advanced propulsion.
What funding has Kratos received for hypersonic programs?
Kratos received roughly $400 million for hypersonic and national security programs. This adds to its total of $1.85 billion across related initiatives.
What milestone did Venus Aerospace achieve with its VDR2 vehicle?
Venus Aerospace completed the first ground launch of its VDR2, marking the initial air-breathing RDRE to take off and transition to ramjet mode.
Stratolaunch achieves 10+ hypersonic flights with reusable Talon-A. Hermeus Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 Mach 1.21; DIU ups contract $159M; new: Quarterhorse clears stores separation test, advancing weapons integration and TBCC reusability. New: Hermeus secures $159M contract increase to $219M for high-Mach payload release demos, with iterative build-and-test approach (Mk 2.2, 2.3) and direct USAF/USN partnership. General Hypersonics ram accelerator Mach4+ twice in 90 min. Venus Aerospace VDR2 ground launch—first air-breathing RDRE to take off and transition to ramjet. Longshot joins AEDC Velocity Alliance, $20M funding. Pentagon S2MARTS solicitation for Next Gen Hypersonics prototypes. Reditus readies first launch of reusable re-entry vehicle/hypersonic target on Falcon 9. Kratos $1.85B total for hypersonic programs; completes $50M IPIF ahead of schedule (68,000 sq ft, simultaneous payload integration for MACH-TB). Second HAWC flight test completed. UK awards Lockheed Martin £20M for Project Bowline hypersonic target, live demo 2027 at Hebrides Range, AUKUS HyFliTE collaboration. Rocket Lab wins $266M Space Force contract for 12 HASTE launches. France's AndroMach Banger engine passes 21 hot-fire tests (7 min burn time) confirming reusability for Envol hypersonic drone (Mach 5, 200 km altitude). Lockheed Martin and Venus Aerospace collaborate to advance RDRE toward operational precision fires. New: Starfighters Space unveils 'Wind Tunnel in the Sky' using F-104s for sustained Mach 2+ flight testing, offering 10-min test windows per 45-min mission—cost-effective alternative to ground wind tunnels. New: Kratos delivers next-gen turbomachinery for Lockheed ramjet, confirming SWaP-C savings and flight test readiness—propulsion milestone for air-breathing hypersonic missiles. New: GE's rotating detonation dual-mode ramjet breakthrough solves turbofan-to-scramjet transition gap with better fuel efficiency; rapid maturation (one year) and planned demo next year. New: ARRW successfully hits Mach 5 in test, third US hypersonic weapon to achieve flight success after HAWC; signals potential operational capability sooner than expected. New: U.S. Army fires hypersonic warhead from a cannon at Yuma—cost-effective alternative to rocket-boosted tests, addressing testing bottlenecks. Joint Lawrence Livermore/DEVCOM-AC effort. Could accelerate warhead development across multiple programs. Latest: DARPA issues NG-HCM RFI for next-gen air-breathing hypersonic missile, seeking leap beyond HAWC/HACM with Design for Manufacturing; industry day September. This RFI emphasizes survivability against IADS and rapid fielding, signaling a shift from incremental scramjet demos to radical scalable cruise missiles. Pentagon also launches rapid procurement for scramjet prototypes under S2MARTS. A recent article argues that the US hypersonic missile drive blurs the nuclear threshold, tying DARPA's NG-HCM solicitation to deeper concerns about cost, production bottlenecks, and escalation management. This reinforces the need for affordable mass and clear doctrine across all US hypersonic programs. Latest: Australia offers range infrastructure to Japan for hypersonic testing, addressing test bottleneck for Japan's HCM/HVGP programs; framework still vague but signals deepening AUKUS-adjacent cooperation.