US Army picks partner for hypersonic test mission support

The US Army has awarded Peraton a two-year, $44 million contract for hypersonic test engineering, mission planning and systems.

As the DoD has prioritised developing and fielding hypersonic weapons, annual flight tests are scheduled to increase from two events to as many as six.

Under the new contract, announced on 15 March, Peraton will provide comprehensive mission support for hypersonic flight test missions.

To support these test events, the company will develop hardware and software solutions associated with the development, maintenance, sustainment and operation of mission and test systems.

‘Hypersonic vehicle testing is an extraordinarily complex process,’ said Roger Mason, president of space and intelligence at Peraton. ‘In addition to the inherent challenges of studying an object traveling at speeds above Mach 5 across uninhabited ocean regions requiring the support of multiple test ranges and collection assets, we also must account for the unique manoeuvrability of the hypersonic test vehicle.’

Peraton will continue to support development of the US Army Portable Range Operations and Test Network and will also begin work on new initiatives, including developing and deploying novel collection mechanisms that place a broad array of instrument sensors closer to a hypersonic vehicle's flight path and point of impact to obtain more testing data.

These novel collection mechanisms may include developing a single networked architecture to rapidly share telemetry and test data; developing and operating an open ocean range system that incorporates sensors based on ships, barges and unmanned maritime systems; and ‘incorporating advanced data collection using aerial drones, Peraton added.

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