US Military turns to the private sector in search of a test vehicle capable of high speeds.
According to Pentagon, the US Department of Defense asked private firms to submit proposals to build a military-grade high-speed test plane.
Companies should submit proposals to US Defense Innovation Units (DIU), who champions the use of commercial technology within the military.
A program called Hypersonic/High-Cadence Airborne testing Capabilities is being used by the Pentagon to ease pressures on its test infrastructure.
Earlier, Barry Kirkendall, the DIU’s technical director for space, told C4ISRNET news portal the project aims to clear some of the logjams that have slowed down the development of hypersonic programs in recent years.
An aircraft has to meet certain criteria. It must reach Mach 5+ and be maneuverable.
The move by the DIU to solicit the private sector’s suppomassnews.comes amid fears that the US may be lagging behind Russia and China in the development of hypersonic technologies. Kathleen Hicks (US Deputy Secretary for Defense) claimed this was not true in August.
Because hypersonic weapons have the potential to bypass air defenses, countries all over the world are focusing their efforts on developing them. They can also be equipped with maneuverable glide vehicles which make their flight paths almost unpredictable.
In late June, however, the Pentagon ran into issues when a test of a US hypersonic weapon failed due to an “An anomaly” that prevented the full trial of the system.
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