Raytheon and Northrop Grumman air-launched HAWC hypersonic missile passes free-flight test in late September
WASHINGTON – Raytheon Technologies Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. test-fired an air-launched hypersonic missile last month -- a key step toward delivering a cruise missile to the U.S. military that can travel at more than five times the speed of sound. Reuters reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
6 Oct. 2021 -- The free-flight test of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) occurred in late September, announced officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va.
Hypersonic weapons travel in the upper atmosphere at speeds of more than five times the speed of sound. The missile, built by Raytheon Technologies, was released from an aircraft seconds before its Northrop Grumman scramjet engine kicked on, DARPA officials say.
In 2019, Raytheon teamed with Northrop Grumman to develop engines for hypersonic weapons. Northrop Grumman's scramjet missile engine uses the vehicle's high speed to compress incoming air before combustion to enable sustained flight at hypersonic speeds.
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
