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Aerojet Rocketdyne has partnered with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and Lockheed Martin to successfully complete the second successful test flight of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept.
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The joint industry team working with the US Air Force successfully launched the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) from a B-52 Stratofortress with the test flight successfully exceeding Mach 5 while travelling more than 300 nautical miles at altitudes exceeding 60,000 feet, accomplishing all primary test objectives.
The goal of the DARPA HAWC program is to develop and demonstrate critical technologies to enable an effective and affordable air-launched hypersonic cruise missile system — this test flight increased the amount of scramjet-powered vehicle performance data to help bring this vision to fruition.
Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne chief executive officer and president, welcomed the latest milestone achievement, saying, “Aerojet Rocketdyne is proud to be a key part of the team demonstrating maturity in advanced hypersonic flight.
“With a second successful flight test now complete, we are, along with our partners, one step closer to making affordable hypersonic flight a reliable capability in support of national defence,” Drake explained.
Aerojet Rocketdyne has continued to improve the aerothermal performance, affordability, scalability, and rapid manufacturability of scramjet engines to meet emerging needs for hypersonic missile and aircraft applications. Along with innovative scramjets, Aerojet Rocketdyne manufactures a wide range of products to support hypersonics, including solid rocket motor boosters, warheads, and missile defence technologies.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings — the company is a world-recognised aerospace and defence leader that provides propulsion systems and energetics to the space, missile defence and strategic systems, and tactical systems areas, in support of domestic and international customers.
