US Air Force to conduct more regular hypersonic flight tests.

According to information published by the US government on October 7, 2022, the Department of Defense announced the award of a new contract to augment the Department's capacity to conduct regular hypersonic flight tests more regularly.

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Artist depiction of the Halcyon aircraft in flight.  (Picture source: Hermeus)

Dynetics and a team of over 20 industry partners have been awarded a Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) through the National Security Technology Accelerator.

This agreement for a new Hypersonics Test Bed will increase domestic capacity for hypersonic flight testing and leverage multiple commercially-available launch vehicles for ride-along hypersonic payloads.

Data collected from tests will enable technology improvements and capability validation as part of the development, fielding, and use of hypersonic weapon systems across the DoD.

This hypersonic flight test bed will offer the Department a national hypersonic testing capability that can be leveraged by a broad range of U.S. military hypersonics programs, DoD research programs, industry partners, and academia stakeholders.

This program will be managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Test Resources Management Center (TRMC) and executed by NSWC Crane.

Delivering hypersonic weapons is a priority for the Department of Defense. Capable of flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), hypersonic weapons are highly maneuverable and can operate at varying altitudes.

The DoD is working in collaboration with industry, government, national laboratories, academia, and allies and partners to field hypersonic warfighting capability in the early-to mid-2020s.