DARPA and US Air Force complete second hypersonic weapon flight test
Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman announced on 18 July that they have completed the second flight test of the scramjet-powered HAWC.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the USAF have completed the second flight test of the scramjet-powered Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). The announcement was made by Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman on 18 July.
This flight test applied the data and lessons from the first flight to mature the operationally relevant weapon concept design.
According to a press release by Northrop Grumman, the missile met all primary and secondary objectives, including demonstrating tactical-range capabilities.
During the flight test, after releasing the HAWC from an aircraft and accelerating to hypersonic speeds using the scramjet engine, the vehicle flew a trajectory designed to intentionally stress the weapon concept to explore its limits and further validate digital performance models.
‘These models, grounded in real-world flight data, are being used to accurately predict and increase performance as the system matures,’ the press release pointed out.
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon completed the first flight test of a scramjet-powered HAWC in September 2021.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Companies’ results boom as countries dig deep to buy missiles and air defence systems]()
Companies’ results boom as countries dig deep to buy missiles and air defence systems
Air defence systems are continuing to appear top of countries’ shopping lists but broadly across different capabilities it is a sellers’ market, as demonstrated by backlogs and double-digit percentage point growth.
-
![Forging strong partnerships for warfighting communications in space (Studio)]()
Forging strong partnerships for warfighting communications in space (Studio)
Mike Moran, Director of US Government Business at Amazon Project Kuiper Government Solutions, highlighted the evolution of space as a critical warfighting domain at the Defence in Space Conference (DISC) 2025, held this week in London.
-
![Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans]()
Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans
In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government plans to position Germany as “Europe's strongest conventional army”. A new blueprint outlines how this is going to occur through massive investment.
-
![European Council to deliver at “pace and scale” on European defence readiness 2030 roadmap]()
European Council to deliver at “pace and scale” on European defence readiness 2030 roadmap
Two of the concrete projects outlined in the readiness report, the European Air Shield and Space Shield, will aim to be launched by Q2 2026.
