Breaking Defense
• Michael Marrow
GE Aerospace secured Defense Innovation Unit funding to advance a hypersonic test bed under the HyCAT program while continuing work on its XA102 engine. The company is also increasing F110 and F404/414 production, addressing supply-chain constraints, and supplying marine gas turbines for South Korea’s next-generation KDDX destroyers.
Hypersonic
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GE Aerospace secured Defense Innovation Unit funding to advance a hypersonic test bed under the HyCAT program while continuing work on its XA102 engine. The company is also increasing F110 and F404/414 production, addressing supply-chain constraints, and supplying marine gas turbines for South Korea’s next-generation KDDX destroyers.
Ukraine’s intelligence service says it has mapped the production chain for Russia’s Zircon hypersonic missile and identified U.S.-origin electronics inside the weapon. The findings challenge Moscow’s claims about Zircon’s capabilities while highlighting the technology and supply-chain dependencies underpinning Russia’s strategic weapons production.
The U.S. Navy has begun testing the low-cost Blackbeard hypersonic missile on the F/A-18 Super Hornet and is targeting a limited operational arsenal within two years. The effort points to a potentially faster, more affordable path to deploying hypersonic capability from existing tactical aircraft.
Colorado-based Ursa Major plans to merge with a blank-check company and enter public markets in early 2027 at a valuation of about $2.3 billion. The transaction is intended to fund the shift from development and low-rate production to full-rate output of rocket engines, hypersonic systems and solid rocket motors.
China’s military has developed a hypersonic glide vehicle designed to launch air-to-air weapons against high-value targets, including command-and-control aircraft, at ranges of thousands of miles. The capability could extend the threat envelope facing airborne battle-management and support platforms central to military operations.
Moog is expanding its Huntsville, Alabama, operation with a secure Hypersonic/Interceptor Hardware-in-the-Loop laboratory, described as one of only a few such facilities in the U.S. The company highlighted the expansion during the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, underscoring its focus on advanced defense-system testing.
Defense-tech startup Castelion has secured more than $1 billion in new financing as it seeks to mass-produce lower-cost hypersonic weapons. The funding will support expanded missile production and development of a broader portfolio spanning offensive and defensive weapon systems.
Japan will conduct tests of hypersonic and other missiles in Australia under an agreement that highlights the two nations’ expanding defense cooperation. The activity adds an operational testing dimension to their security relationship and underscores the growing strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific.
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