Australian company Hypersonix Launch Systems newly hired Developing an air test vehicle capable of sustaining speeds above Mach 5. The missile platform will also be highly maneuverable and be able to fly at hypersonic speeds continuously for at least 3 minutes. Hypersonix is ​​also working with the Australian government to launch a hypersonic testbed this year. The company’s Dart cart is 3 meters (9 feet) long and 3D-printed from high-temperature alloys. It will conduct the first flight tests of the Spartan company’s hydrogen-powered engine.

According to Hypersonix, the Spartan is a self-igniting, reusable engine that has matured through more than 30 years of research and development and “more than 6,000 ground launches and 11 suborbital flights.” The American defense and aerospace company Kratos provides the rocket booster that will accelerate the Dart to Mach 5 and then fire it up to the Spartan Mach 12.

The Hypersonix DART AE (Additive Engineering) cart is 3D printed and features a hydrogen-powered scramjet engine. It can fly between Mach 5 and 7 and has a range of about 600 miles, equivalent to 400 seconds of flight time. The DART AE has a modular load compartment weighing up to 20 pounds and Hypersonix plans to launch it in early 2024.

“Our long-term goal is to capture a slice of the emerging multibillion dollar commercial market for small satellite deployment, but it’s clear that Australia’s strategic defense allies see immediate potential in our technology,” said David Waterhouse, managing director of the company. director, in a press release.

Hypersonic weapons are increasingly in demand as they can evade most types of anti-missile defense. Rockets travel at 5 to 25 times the speed of sound and use air-powered engines such as scramjets to reach high speeds. Another class of hypersonic missiles can maneuver and glide through the atmosphere after the initial ballistic launch phase. The USA and Japan are reported to have. study a joint program development of hypersonic anti-missile defense. Pentagon Works at interceptorIt has the ability to neutralize hypersonic threats during the flight planning phase.