Lockheed Martin and the US military have successfully completed a test flight of the air-breathing hypersonic weapon concept, the Maryland-based aerospace firm confirmed Monday.
The recent test of the hypersonic weapon doubled the amount of data from scramjet-powered vehicles, the company said in a statement. A scramjet is a supersonic combustion ramjet engine, capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 15 (15 times the speed of sound).
The HAWC program is being developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne on the private side, along with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Army Air Force Research Laboratory.
The military did not specify exactly when the test took place.
The missile recorded speeds in excess of Mach 5, or 3,836.35 mph, at an altitude above 60,000 feet for more than 300 nautical miles. It was mounted on the wing of a US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber and launched into the air.
“This month’s flight added an exclamation point to the most successful hypersonic air breathing flight test program in United States history,” Air Force HAWC Program Deputy Walter Price said in a statement. .
“The things we have learned from HAWC will certainly enhance the future capabilities of the US Air Force. The system worked as expected.”
“Affordability and reliability are essential as we work to develop operational hypersonic solutions,” said John Clark, Lockheed Martin vice president and Skunkworks general manager.
“Our two HAWC flight tests were launched from operational aircraft and matched performance models and predictions to aid rapid and affordable development of future hypersonic weapons,” Clark said.
The successful test marks the final phase of the current program, though DARPA said it will continue to test the technology moving forward by building and flying more vehicles.
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