HUNTSVILLE — Leidos has been awarded a $334 million contract to assist the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory develop an air-breathing hypersonic system.

The program, known as “Mayhem,” consists of expendable hypersonic multi-mission intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance along with the strike program, the company said. Mayhem has a 51-month performance period.

The initial task order is $24 million to conduct the system requirements review and conceptual design review in a digital engineering environment.

“To deliver the next generation of air-breathing hypersonic systems, we’ll leverage our years of investment, knowledge and success in the hypersonic field,” Leidos’ Dynetics President Steve Cook said. “Our team is prepared to undertake this vital mission for our nation.”

The Mayhem system will use a scramjet engine to generate thrust, propelling the vehicle across long distances at speeds greater than Mach 5.

Leidos is tasked with designing and developing a large-class version that surpasses current air-breathing systems in range and payload capacity using digital engineering to ensure the design efforts help future development and transition.

Leidos has assembled a team including Calspan, Draper and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, to serve as the system design agent. The SDA will forge partnerships to deliver the research and development needed to design and prepare a production-ready technical data package to produce prototypes.

Leidos will also lead the model based systems engineering and programming to help ensure Mayhem can transition from an idea to an operational system.

“The team assembled by Leidos marries exceptional experience with innovation,” said Mayhem Program Manager Ryan Leo. “We’re working with the nation’s top solution providers in hypersonic vehicle and propulsion technologies. We’re proud to contribute to this important national security mission.”