US Air Force to develop first Hypersonic Air-Breathing Missile

News, US September 25, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to defense firms Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense to develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM).

According to the Northrop Grumman statement, a project arrangement between the U.S. and Australia, the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) developed the first-of-its-kind HACM weapon.

Under the contract, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense are expected to deliver operationally ready missiles to the U.S. Air Force. The next generation of tactical missile systems.

President of Raytheon Missiles & Defense Wes Kremer said that “Raytheon Missiles & Defense continues to be at the forefront of hypersonic weapon and air-breathing technology development. With advanced threats emerging around the globe, the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile will provide our warfighters a much-needed capability.”

Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is an air-breathing, scramjet-powered munition. Scramjet engines use high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion, which enables sustained flight at hypersonic speeds, which is Mach 5 or greater speeds.

The Northrop Grumman statement highlighted that “HACM are able to reach their targets more quickly than similar traditional missiles, allowing them to potentially evade defensive systems.”

Northrop Grumman Defense Systems Corporate Vice President and President Mary Petryszyn said “The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile creates a new class of strategically important weapons for the U.S. military. Our scramjet propulsion technology is ushering in a new era for faster, more survivable, and highly capable weapons.”

Earlier in June 2022, U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded a contract to Raytheon Missiles and Northrop Grumman to continue developing missiles to intercept hypersonic weapons. A contract of up to $62 million has been awarded to Raytheon and up to $60 million to Northrop Grumman to expand their programs on counter-hypersonic missiles.

^{Artist rendering of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC), the result of a partnership between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Air Force Research Lab, Lockheed Martin, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. (Image Credit: Lockheed Martin/DARPA)}

Hypersonic weapons refer to weapons that travel faster than Mach 5 (~3,800mph) and have the capability to maneuver during the entire flight. Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) has been quite successful in the testing phase as the U.S. Air Force conducted several tests of its HAWC missile systems in 2022.

The U.S. defense giants like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, and Northrop Grumman have started to put a particular emphasis on producing hypersonic weapons amid China and Russia’s growing success in the field. Since 2019, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman have been working together to develop, build and integrate scramjet engines onto air-breathing hypersonic weapons.

American defense contractors are hoping to capitalize on the country’s growing need for hypersonic weapons to compete with U.S. rivals. A string of successful and unsuccessful tests for hypersonic missiles has been observed in recent times as the Pentagon ramps up its effort to acquire a locally produced hypersonic weapon.