Raytheon wins $985M Air Force hypersonic missile contract
The Air Force expects to receive delivery of the first hypersonic missile prototype by fiscal year 2027
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Raytheon Missiles & Defense will develop and demonstrate a hypersonic missile for the United States Air Force under a new $985.3 million contract awarded on Thursday.
The contract underscores the Air Force’s focus on increasing interoperability with allies and partners to stay ahead of strategic competitors. China reportedly tested a hypersonic missile near Taiwan this summer while Russia in March claimed to have used a hypersonic missile in its invasion of Ukraine.
The defense contractor's hypersonic attack cruise missile (HACM) is an air-breathing, scramjet-powered weapon designed to reach targets faster than the traditional missile and potentially evade enemy defense systems.
HACM is an air-breathing, scramjet-powered weapon designed to reach targets faster than the traditional missile and potentially evade enemy defense systems.
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Scramjet engines use high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion, enabling sustained flight at speeds of Mach 5 (approximately 3,800 miles per hour) or greater.
Raytheon Technologies
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| RTX | RTX CORP. | 121.78 | +1.44 | +1.19% |
| NOC | NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP. | 489.65 | +0.57 | +0.12% |
HACM's scramjet is designed by Northrop Grumman, who has partnered with Raytheon on the project since 2019.
"With advanced threats emerging around the globe, the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile will provide our warfighters a much-needed capability," Raytheon Missiles & Defense president Wes Kramer said in a statement.
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HACM is being developed in conjunction with the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), a multi-year partnership between the U.S. and Australia in 2020.
Through the SCIFiRE agreement, the U.S. and Australia will continue collaborating on HACM design and development, including using Australian test infrastructure for the initial all-up-round flight tests.
The Air Force expects to receive delivery of the first HACM prototype by fiscal year 2027.
Raytheon's design is moving forward after beating out Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
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| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 155.44 | +3.04 | +1.99% |
| LMT | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. | 529.41 | +3.66 | +0.70% |
In June 2021, the three companies were each awarded 15-month SCIFiRE contracts from the Air Force to complete preliminary designs for a hypersonic cruise missile.