Defense Titans Join Forces for Next-Gen Hypersonic Weapons Breakthrough

Raytheon, a division of RTX (NYSE: RTX), in collaboration with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), has secured a continuation contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to mitigate risks associated with future air-breathing hypersonic systems. As per the agreement, the Raytheon-led consortium will develop and conduct flights of additional Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) flight vehicles.

“We have utilized insights from each successful HAWC flight trial to guarantee that it is the most advanced system of its type,” stated Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon. “Sustaining this vital program will enhance our understanding of hypersonic flight and enable us to provide the essential capabilities our warfighters require.”

The consortium will persist in applying data and insights gathered from previous phases of the project to evolve the operationally pertinent weapon concept design. Primarily, the initiative emphasizes integrating manufacturing enhancements into the current HAWC design and flight evaluations to broaden its operating range while validating system performance models. The airframe and engine configurations are closely matched to the U.S. Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM), which will directly benefit from ongoing advancements.

“The HAWC follow-on contract serves as a pioneering engine project in our new production-ready Hypersonics Capability Center located in Elkton, Maryland,” expressed Dan Olson, general manager and vice president of weapons systems at Northrop Grumman. “Our factory of the future will effortlessly transition our validated propulsion system design into an operationally ready system to facilitate further flight evaluations.”

Raytheon and Northrop Grumman have collaborated since 2013 and formalized a partnership agreement in 2019 to develop, manufacture, and integrate Northrop Grumman’s scramjet engines onto Raytheon’s air-breathing hypersonic weapon systems. In September 2022, the team was chosen to develop HACM, a groundbreaking weapon. Furthermore, the team has successfully carried out multiple HAWC operational prototype system flight evaluations where digital engineering concepts, based on real-world flight data, have accurately forecasted and enhanced system performance. Their combined efforts support the production of air-breathing hypersonic weapons, the next generation of tactical missile technologies.