WASHINGTON — The nation’s hypersonic vehicle testing has reduced a turnaround time “from months down to weeks.”
The Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center, in partnership with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, conducted a second flight last month of a fully recoverable uncrewed hypersonic test vehicle, less than three months aftert the first test.
In both tests, the Stratolaunch Talon-A hypersonic vehicle launched from the Roc carrier aircraft, flew over the Pacific Ocean and achieved speeds greater than Mach 5 before landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The landmark tests supported the ongoing TRMC Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed project.
“Demonstrating the reuse of fully recoverable hypersonic test vehicles is an important milestone for MACH-TB,” said TRMC Director George Rumford. “Lessons learned from this test campaign will help us reduce vehicle turnaround time from months down to weeks.”
MACH-TB accelerates delivery of advanced hypersonic capabilities to the warfighter by providing DoD, other federal agencies, industry, and academia the capability to affordably and rapidly conduct hypersonic experiments and test hypersonic system components.
NSWC Crane awarded the MACH-TB contract to Leidos through the Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems Other Transaction Authority vehicle on behalf of the TRMC.
As the prime contractor for MACH-TB, Leidos awarded Stratolaunch a competitive contract to provide flight test services for the program.
Stratolaunch is progressing on the manufacturing of the TA-2 and TA-3 vehicles, the first fully reusable vehicles in that Talon-A product line.
In addition to meeting the test milestone, the company also recently announced two flight contracts with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Navy’s MACH-TB program as a subcontractor to Leidos/Dynetics.
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