Cummings Aerospace turbojet-powered, 3D-printed kamikaze drone completes flight tests

HUNTSVILLE — A new weapon that is fast, light and cost-effective could soon enter the Army’s arsenal thanks to a Huntsville small business.

Cummings Aerospace recently completed a series of rigorous flight tests for Hellhound, a turbo-jet-powered, 3D-printed kamikaze drone that can fly faster than 350 mph.

Hellhound is designed to equip the Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams with the same lethal combat power as Armored Brigades, enabling precise, long-range strikes against tanks, armored vehicles and fortified positions, the company said.

“The modern battlefield demands speed, and quadcopters and propeller-driven drones are slow,” said CEO Sheila Cummings. “In combat, our peer adversaries will exploit every second of delay.

“Hellhound’s jet-powered design ensures Infantry Brigade Combat Teams can act faster – gathering intelligence and striking critical targets deep in the contested areas before the enemy has time to react.”

Cummings Aerospace, a Native American Woman-Owned Small Business headquartered in Huntsville, is an aerospace engineering company delivering weapon system solutions for defense modernization and readiness.

Hellhound facts:

• Affordable: Combines 3D printing and DOD-approved commercial components to reduce production costs, simplify logistics and deliver advanced capabilities at lower costs than traditional systems.
• Faster time on target: Powered by a turbojet engine, Hellhound demonstrated speeds exceeding 350 mph at half throttle during recent tests, ensuring rapid response to time-sensitive threats. Future tests will evaluate the full performance envelope.
• Manportable: All up round (vehicle, launch canister and ground control system) weighs less than 25 pounds, allowing single-Soldier deployment and enhancing Infantry mobility.
• Mission flexibility: The modular design supports warhead; Electronic Warfare; and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance payloads.
  • Soldiers can field-swap payloads in less than 5 minutes without tools.

The flight tests provided critical data further validating Hellhound’s readiness for complex operational scenarios, the company said.

The tests:

• When and where: Pendleton UAS Range, Oregon, Jan. 22–25.
• Test scope: Three flight tests. Key activities included:
  – Speed and range testing: Flew faster than 350 mph at half throttle while exceeding distances of 20 km, using just 50% of fuel.
  – Seeker integration: Proved Hellhound’s ability to conduct ISR missions by validating Hellhound’s seeker with live video transmission during flight.
  – Inert payload testing: Conducted simulated strikes with an inert warhead, verifying the functionality of critical systems.
• Test conditions: Hellhound flew – and performed reliably – in very low temperatures, high winds and snow.
• Results: All primary objectives achieved.
  – Validated the airframe and key subsystems at Technology Readiness Level 7, proving reliable performance in operationally realistic conditions.
• Previous milestones: Builds on 12 flight tests conducted in 2023 and 2024 that established the system’s core capabilities.

In the coming months, Cummings Aerospace said it will conduct additional flight tests of Hellhound to bring the entire system to TRL 7.

After that, the company will submit a proposal formally offering Hellhound to the Army for the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. Then, Cummings will conduct demonstrations and tests of Hellhound for other customers.