FlightGlobal
• Ryan Finnerty
Stratolaunch will add a Boeing 777-200ER as its third air-launch platform for reusable Talon-A hypersonic test vehicles. The aircraft is expected to enter service after modifications in 2027, increasing the company’s stated flight-test capacity by 35% as demand for hypersonic testing grows.
Hypersonic
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Stratolaunch will add a Boeing 777-200ER as its third air-launch platform for reusable Talon-A hypersonic test vehicles. The aircraft is expected to enter service after modifications in 2027, increasing the company’s stated flight-test capacity by 35% as demand for hypersonic testing grows.
The U.S. Navy is advancing Blackbeard, a lower-cost, rapidly producible standoff weapon, with the missile recently seen flying on an F/A-18 Super Hornet for the first time. The service aims to field the capability no later than 2028.
North Korean state media says the country launched a new missile type on Sept. 20 fitted with what it described as a hypersonic glide vehicle. The claim points to continued development of maneuverable high-speed weapons, although the report provides no independent confirmation of the test’s performance or capability.
North Korea says its latest missile tests involved a weapons system of “great significance,” while released imagery indicates the launch involved a missile previously described as hypersonic. The announcement highlights Pyongyang’s continued development and publicization of advanced missile capabilities.
GE Aerospace is developing a combined booster-and-cruiser all-up-round test bed for the Defense Innovation Unit, while AEVEX won up to $92.2 million to modernize SkyRange hypersonic telemetry and communications. Separately, BAE Systems launched Shadow EW, a family of compact electronic-warfare systems for crewed and uncrewed small airborne platforms.
High activity
The U.S. Navy is moving multiple uncrewed and advanced-weapon concepts toward operational use: Boeing received a $562 million contract for three MQ-25A Stingrays, Castelion secured a potential $200 million Blackbeard production order, and Textron Aviation and Merlin unveiled a pilotless SkyCourier military resupply concept.
The FAA has approved Hermeus to conduct supersonic flights with its Quarterhorse Mk 2.2 aircraft. The hypersonic startup has already broken the sound barrier with its Mk 2.1 jet, marking another regulatory milestone for its aircraft development program.
Stratolaunch, the Cerberus-backed hypersonics company, is preparing for a U.S. initial public offering that could raise as much as $500 million as soon as October, according to people familiar with the matter. The potential listing would bring a specialized defense technology business to public markets.
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