DARPA’s Newest Hypersonic Missile Passed a Crucial Test

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The test marks a milestone in the HAWC hypersonic project, a massive multi-agency effort.

byCaleb Larson

In a news release, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, or DARPA, announced that two variants of their Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept just successfully completed captive carry tests. During these non-release type tests, the weapon remains attached to the carrier airframe via a weapons pylon and is intended to gather data on the flight characteristics of the weapon and the airframe carrying the missile during flight.

The HAWC program is a joint DARPA and U.S. Air Force technology demonstration project that also includes a number of other government agencies and private companies, including NASA, the U.S. Navy, and the Missile Defense Agency. The two private companies working to develop the HAWC are Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies.

Prototypes

While one of the project goals is to eventually produce a hypersonic missile, the data gathered by the project would likely be used in the future for developing other hypersonic weapons, DARPA explained. “The extensive flight data collected is intended to increase the confidence in air-breathing hypersonic systems and reduce the risks to potential future acquisition programs across the U.S. government.”