UK brings 90 companies into $1.25 billion hypersonic missile programme
The UK is looking to develop an indigenous hypersonic capability. (Image: DE&S)
The Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) agreement was first announced in 2023 in an effort to accelerate the development of a sovereign UK strike capability.
Ninety companies have been accepted into the UK’s £1 billion HTCDF agreement, set up to rapidly develop advanced hypersonic missile capabilities where firrns can bid for contracts within the programme.
The framework agreement is designed to provide a faster route to achieve capability and will select suppliers all the way through to a final weapon system with the award of contracts managed through competitive processes at the MoD's DE&S agency.
The framework hopes to enable focussed research to be spirally developed through varying Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) from very low to ready for operations, specifically TRL 1-9.
The HTCDF will reopen to new suppliers every six to 12 months so the MoD can draw upon new technologies and emerging market capabilities.
Alongside established weapons manufacturers and academic institutions, nearly half of the suppliers will be small and medium enterprises and, according to DE&S, this is designed “to leverage the strength and breadth of UK and international talent and innovation across the defence enterprise".
You may also like
More from Air Warfare
-
![Airbus to fly new CUAS UAV prototype this year]()
Airbus to fly new CUAS UAV prototype this year
The counter-UAS prototype, named Low-cost Air Defence or ‘LOAD’, will be used to combat kamikaze UAS.
-
![Taiwan receives first F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft]()
Taiwan receives first F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft
The aircraft is the first of 66 to be delivered to Taiwan from Lockheed Martin.
-
![Boeing to remanufacture five more US Army MH-47G Block II Chinooks]()
Boeing to remanufacture five more US Army MH-47G Block II Chinooks
The contract award, worth $240 million, is part of the ongoing effort by the US Army to modernise its Block II Chinook rotorcraft fleet.
-
![Avalon 2025: RAAF looks beyond 10 years to when future deliveries may restart]()
Avalon 2025: RAAF looks beyond 10 years to when future deliveries may restart
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has been substantially refreshed in the past two decades including F-35A and F/A-18F fighter aircraft, as well as the addition of transport aircraft such as C-17s, C-130 variants and C-27Js. Additional aircraft may only be a medium-term prospect.
-
![Avalon 2025: BAE Systems eyes customers for its Strix after initial flight]()
Avalon 2025: BAE Systems eyes customers for its Strix after initial flight
The Strix test effort suffered a setback last year when the prototype incurred minor damage in a hard landing during its second trial flight.
