Additional Flight Tests Offer Opportunity to Further
Expand and Validate System Capabilities
TUCSON,
Ariz., July 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon, an
RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, in partnership with Northrop Grumman
Corporation (NYSE: NOC), was awarded a follow-on contract from the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to reduce risk
for future air breathing hypersonic systems. Under the agreement,
the Raytheon-led team will build and fly additional Hypersonic
Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) flight vehicles.
"We applied learnings from each successful HAWC flight test to
ensure that it is the most sophisticated system of its kind," said
Colin Whelan, president of Advanced
Technology for Raytheon. "Continuing this important program will
expand our knowledge of hypersonic flight and allow us to deliver
the critical capability our warfighters need."
The team will continue to apply data and lessons learned from
earlier stages of the program to mature the operationally relevant
weapon concept design. Mainly, the effort focuses on incorporating
manufacturing improvements into the existing HAWC design and flight
tests to expand its operating envelope while validating system
performance models. The airframe and engine designs are closely
aligned to the U.S. Air Force's Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile
(HACM) which will directly benefit from the continued
advancements.
"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, 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."
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman have been partners since 2013 and
signed a teaming agreement in 2019 to develop, produce and
integrate Northrop Grumman's scramjet engines onto Raytheon's
air-breathing hypersonic weapons. In September 2022, the team was selected to develop
HACM, a first-of-its-kind weapon. Additionally, the team has
successfully completed multiple HAWC operational prototype system
flight tests where digital engineering concepts, grounded in
real-world flight data, have accurately predicted and increased
system performance. Their combined efforts enable the production of
air-breathing hypersonic weapons, the next generation of tactical
missile systems.
About RTX
RTX is the world's largest aerospace
and defense company. With more than 180,000 global employees, we
push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we
connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses
– Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are
advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for
operational success, and developing next-generation technology
solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their
most critical challenges. The company, with 2022 sales of
$67 billion, is headquartered in
Arlington, Virginia.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a
leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our
pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they
need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of
human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose
to solve our customers' toughest problems, our 95,000 employees
define possible every day.
For questions, please contact:
Lindsey Drummey
rmdpr@rtx.com
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SOURCE RTX