A small Australian technology company has been recruited by the US Defence Department to supply a vehicle to test fearsome hypersonic missiles.
Sydney-based Hypersonix Launch Systems will build a reusable aircraft for the Pentagon that is capable of speeds of between Mach 5 (6174 km/h) and Mach 7 (8600km/h), making it able to outpace conventionally-powered aircraft and missiles.
Flying between Mach 5 and Mach 7 would enable an aircraft to travel the 6580km from Sydney to Perth and back in about one hour.
Other countries, including Russia and China, have also joined the race to build them.
Hypersonic missiles can travel at a far lower trajectory than high-arcing ballistic missiles, and pose a major challenge to air defence systems.
Russia’s military deployed hypersonic missiles in Ukraine last year, the first known use of the technology in combat.
But the testing of hypersonic weapons by the US is currently limited to land- and sea-based test ranges and uses expensive, non-recoverable test firings, slowing the development of the emerging technology.
Last September, the Pentagon’s Defence Innovation Unit launched a project to build a lower-cost airborne testing platform for hypersonic weapons
The Hypersonix aircraft chosen earlier this month is the DART AE (Additive Engineering) vehicle, which is largely built using 3D printing and is powered by a hydrogen-fuelled SPARTAN scramjet engine.
Read Related Also: What Is Tranquilizer Challenge? Viral TikTok Trend Sends Multiple Kids To Hospital
The company said it is “capable of flying non-ballistic flight patterns at speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 7 and up to 1000km in range (400 seconds flight time)”.
Hypersonix plans to fly the vehicle early next year.
“Our longer-term focus is to capture a slice of the emerging multi-billion-dollar commercial market for the deployment of small satellites, but clearly Australia’s strategic defence allies see immediate potential in our technology,” managing director David Waterhouse said.
“This is our first major contract and a key step in our commercialisation process – we couldn’t be happier.
“This puts Australia one step closer to being a major player in the international space race.”
Hypersonix is also working with the Australian government to fly a hypersonic test vehicle.
Countries with the highest military expenditure in the world
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
