Stratolaunch Awarded $24.7M Agreement by Missile Defense Agency for Hypersonic Flight Test Campaign

Stratolaunch has been awarded a $24.7M million competitive agreement by the Missile Defense Agency to support national defense objectives through a groundbreaking hypersonic flight test mission.

The company’s press service reported on this.

The project will leverage modifications to Stratolaunch’s Spirit of Mojave 747 launch platform to expand Talon-A flight capabilities beyond the U.S. western coast to a variety of global locations.

After all the necessary work is done, the aircraft will become a platform for launching the Talon-A hypersonic aircraft.

As part of the project, the vehicle is to prove its flight capabilities to different parts of the world.

The test campaign, which should demonstrate the ability to test the latest missile defense systems, is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.

“This mission will enhance our national security posture, enabling rapid testing of new missile defense architectures designed to defend against hypersonic threats,” Dr. Zachary Krevor, President and CEO of Stratolaunch, stated.

Test of hypersonic weapons in the United States

In December, Militarnyi reported that the US military has successfully tested a hypersonic Long Range Hypersonic Weapon missile, known as Dark Eagle.

Lockheed Martin developed this missile, which can travel up to 3,000 kilometers at a flight speed of Mach 4.9.

The LRHW is part of the US strategy to develop hypersonic weapons after the country’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2020.

Lockheed Martin has recently adapted the Mako hypersonic missile to most American fighter jets and disclosed some of its parameters.

It took seven years for the company to develop a new generation of missiles, which is actually not that long for hypersonic weapons systems, especially ones as compact as the Mako.