DIU launched a 3D-printed, hydrogen-fueled scramjet vehicle aboard Rocket Lab's HASTE to gather real hypersonic flight data.
The Pentagon took another step toward speeding up hypersonic testing.The Defense Innovation Unit launched a 3D-printed hypersonic testbed built by Australian firm Hypersonix as part of its HyCAT program.
The mission, called Cassowary Vex, sent the DART AE demonstrator into a suborbital flight aboard Rocket Lab’s HASTE vehicle.Officials say the flight gathered propulsion, trajectory, and vehicle data under real hypersonic conditions.The results will inform ongoing Pentagon efforts to validate new high-speed systems faster and at lower cost.Commercial testbed takes flightCassowary Vex mission marked the first time DIU deployed a commercially developed testbed under its Hypersonic High-Cadence Advanced Testing program.Rocket Lab provided its Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron, or HASTE. The company modified the rocket with an extended fairing, added thermal protection, and installed separation systems.Those upgrades enabled a low-altitude payload release suited for air-breathing propulsion testing.The payload was Hypersonix’s three-meter DART AE vehicle. The single-use demonstrator runs on a gaseous hydrogen-fueled scramjet engine.Engineers built the airframe entirely through additive manufacturing using high-temperature alloys.DIU said the approach could expand the supply chain for test articles. It could also increase how often the department flies hypersonic experiments.“Accessing the commercial and non-traditional ecosystem is a key enabler to accelerating progress in the hypersonics community of interest, particularly for closing mission timelines and driving towards mass and affordability,” Lt. Col. Nicholas Estep, director of DIU’s emerging technologies portfolio, said in a statement.The department launched the HyCAT initiative in 2022 to address persistent testing bottlenecks. The Army, Navy and Air Force have invested billions in hypersonic weapons.These systems travel at Mach 5 or faster and maneuver in flight. Traditional missile defenses struggle to intercept them.Testing bottleneck challengesDevelopers face a major hurdle. Hypersonic systems must endure extreme heat and stress. Only a limited number of U.S. wind tunnels and high-speed tracks can replicate those conditions. That shortage has slowed development timelines.HyCAT aims to ease that pressure. The program supports low-cost, commercially derived airborne test platforms that supplement government infrastructure. DIU awarded early prototype contracts in 2023 to Hypersonix and other firms to build reusable and expendable systems.The Pentagon also ran a previous HyCAT mission in November. DIU partnered with the Missile Defense Agency and used Rocket Lab’s HASTE to deploy government-provided payloads.Friday’s flight marked the first outing for the DART AE platform itself.“This mission allowed us to test propulsion, materials and control systems in real hypersonic conditions,” Michael Smart, Hypersonix co-founder, said in a statement.“At these speeds and temperatures, there is no substitute for flight data. The results from this mission will directly shape the design of future operational hypersonic aircraft.”The Defense Department continues to push for faster test cycles. Scaled hypersonics ranks among six critical technology areas identified by DOD Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael.By leaning on commercial launch providers and 3D-printed vehicles, DIU hopes to shrink timelines and increase flight opportunities.For U.S. defense planners, more frequent hypersonic tests could translate into faster fielding of next-generation weapons and aircraft.
Defense Innovation Unit DIU HASTE Hycat Hypersonic Weapons Hypersonix Rocket Lab Scramjet Engine
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