US scramjet weapons one-step closer thanks to new $81 million Raytheon contract
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Raytheon has officially been awarded an $81 million "risk reduction program" for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). Called More Opportunities with the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (MoHAWC), the program's aim (led by Raytheon but also includes Northrop Grumman) will be to integrate lessons learned from the scramjet program’s previous stages to "mature" the HAWC concept further, The Defense Post reports.
Building on HAWC
The HAWC program was officially concluded in January of this year. According to an interview with DefenseScoop, DARPA program manager Salvatore Buccellato, MoHAWC is striving to advance the development, integration, and demonstration of technologies that can demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of air-launched hypersonic cruise missiles.
“These technologies include advancing hydrocarbon scramjet-powered propulsion operation, upgrading aircraft integration algorithms, and improving manufacturing approaches,” Buccellato said.
Unlike conventional rockets (which carry their fuel and oxygen), an air-breathing engine, like a scramjet, uses atmospheric oxygen to combust the fuel to provide propulsion. In a scramjet, the air is forced into the engine at supersonic speeds, enabling it to reach up to Mach 15 (15 times the speed of sound).
To date, the United States Air Force (USAF) and DARPA have conducted three tests since September 2021. Two of these were made using Raytheon's demonstrator. Another test, in January of this year, included dropping a HAWC vehicle from a B-52 bomber. This test saw the HAWK reach speeds of over Mach 5 at around 60,000 feet (18.3 km).
These tests provided valuable data for DARPA, but, as the agency admits, more work is needed. This will include further data analysis and research and development. It is for this reason, among others, that this new Raytheon contract has been launched.
“We applied learnings from each successful HAWC flight test to ensure that it is the most sophisticated system of its kind,” explained Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon in a statement. “Continuing this important program will expand our knowledge of hypersonic flight and allow us to deliver the critical capability our warfighters need," he added.
Raytheon has also stated that the program should provide much-needed benefits for the USAF's Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile program.
Learning from mistakes
“We applied learnings from each successful HAWC flight test to ensure that it is the most sophisticated system of its kind,” Raytheon President of Advanced Technology Colin Whelan explained. “Continuing this important program will expand our knowledge of hypersonic flight and allow us to deliver the critical capability our warfighters need," he added.
"The HAWC follow-on contract serves as an engine pathfinder program in our new production-ready Hypersonics Capability Center in Elkton, Maryland," said Dan Olson, general manager and vice president of weapons systems, Northrop Grumman. "Our factory of the future will seamlessly transition our validated propulsion system design into an operationally ready system to support further flight testing," he added.
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