By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
An aerospace company in southern California has been chosen by both the US and the UK to provide hypersonic test launch capability – deals that could result in billions in revenue.
Rocket Lab, based in Long Beach, Calif., will use its specialized launch vehicle, known as HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) and its integrated engineering services.
Carrying a maximum payload of 1,540 pounds, HASTE can reach speeds of more than 4.6 miles per second (almost Mach 22). It is a suborbital version of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket and uses its carbon composite design and 3D-printed engines.
Rocket Lab says it has used HASTE in three successful missions for the Defense Department – including two in the space of 21 days from the company’s launch site on Wallops Island, Va.
“Keeping pace with global developments means more affordable tests at a higher rate that expands the boundaries of hypersonic technology, “said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “And that’s a capability we’re already providing all in one platform with HASTE, at a commercial price and cadence that serves the missions of both nations.”
Rocket Lab’s deal with the US Air Force comes under the Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition contract. That’s a $46 billion indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contract that allows the service more flexibility when it comes to acquiring technologies and services.
In the UK, the Ministry of Defense chose Rocket Lab for its Hypersonic Technologies & Capabilities Development Framework. The allows the company to bid for technology, services and testing contracts.
Earlier this year, the US and the UK wrapped up a joint hypersonic propulsion aimed at advancing the development of a ultra high speed cruise missile. A team conducted 233 static engine tests at NASA”s Langley Research Center in Virginia.
Last year, Australia, the UK and the US – who make up the AUKUS defense partnership – signed a hypersonic flight test and experimentation project arrangement. Its goal is development of both offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies.
It’s been reported in multiple sources and China and Russia are leading when it comes to hypersonic weapons. The two countries have developed missiles that can fly fast and can maneuver at low altitudes to evade defenses. More than a year ago, Ukraine says that Russia used an advanced hypersonic missile for the first time in combat.
Earlier this month, technology expert David Hambling told Newsweek, “The US, Russia and China are in an arms race over hypersonics, and nobody wants to drop out.”
