Stratolaunch, a California-based firm building a reusable hypersonic test vehicle, is modifying its carrier aircraft to support high-speed test missions around the globe.
Through a nearly $25 million contract from the Missile Defense Agency the company will modify one of its launch platforms, dubbed the Spirit of Mojave, to fly from any airport that can support an aircraft the size of a 747 jetliner.
Stratolaunch, which announced the award Jan. 9, hopes to have the modifications complete to support testing by the fourth quarter of this year. CEO Zachary Krevor told Defense News the timing of the award comes as the firm is seeing growing demand for its hypersonic test vehicle, Talon-A.
“Our company’s goal is to get to one flight test a month this calendar year and then next year start to beat that and really address that Pentagon demand,” he said.
DoD is working to increase its testing rigor, setting a goal in 2022 to eventually conduct one hypersonic test flight each week. Talon-A could provide the department with a reusable, more affordable platform to test and validate high-speed components, subsystems and other technologies.
Stratolaunch has two carrier aircraft for taking Talon-A to its intended launch altitude: Spirit of Mojave, a Boeing-made 747-400 aircraft; and Roc, a much larger, two-fuselage aircraft with a 385-foot wingspan. The firm’s vision is to use both aircraft for tests, but for now Roc is the only one equipped with the requisite release system for Talon-A.
The MDA contract will allow Stratolaunch to install its release mechanism on Spirit of Mojave and will also support initial flight testing. Along with adding the release system, the company will upgrade the aircraft’s electrical interfaces and ensure onboard displays are configured for Talon-A.
Having two test platforms equipped to fly Talon-A gives Stratolaunch flexibility to support multiple DOD customers whose testing needs extend beyond the West Coast, which is where Roc has conducted Talon-A testing to date. For MDA — which is developing satellites that can track advanced missile threats through programs like the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor experimentation effort — that flexibility means it can test and calibrate the performance of its sensors to detect missiles launched from different locations around the world.
Stratolaunch is also on contract to support the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed, a program led by the Pentagon’s Test Research Management Center and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. As part of the deal, the company will conduct five MACH-TB flight tests.
Talon-A launched for the first time in March 2024, reaching near-hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was slated for a second test flight last year — with a goal of meeting or surpassing Mach 5 — but Krevor did not confirm whether that test had occurred.
Courtney Albon is C4ISRNET’s space and emerging technology reporter. She has covered the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. She has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges.
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