U.S. Develops 3D-Printed Hellhound S3 Vertical-Launch Jet Strike Drone

U.S. company Cummings Aerospace has developed the compact Hellhound S3 jet-powered strike drone with a 3D-printed airframe.

The company announced this in a press release, according to The Defense Blog.

The drone is launched vertically from a launch canister and can reach speeds of up to 618 km/h.

The Hellhound S3 is approximately 90 cm long and weighs around 5.9 kg. Its design combines additive manufacturing with commercially available components, which the developer intends to use to simplify and reduce mass-production costs.

The company says it can produce more than 100 of these drones per month.

The developer positions the Hellhound S3 as a lightweight, relatively low-cost precision-strike vehicle that a single service member can carry and operate without a conventional runway.

According to the manufacturer, the drone can travel more than 60 km.

Depending on the mission, it can serve as a loitering munition, a precision-strike weapon, or an interceptor to engage other drones.

Its modular design allows for different payloads, including armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation warheads, electronic warfare systems, and decoy modules.

On August 25, 2026, the company tested launching two Hellhound S3s from a multi-round launcher mounted on a Polaris vehicle. The test took place at the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon.

The drones were launched one after another in less than 90 seconds, after which they autonomously carried out different flight missions under the control of a single fire control system. During the test, the drones carried inert payloads.

Militarnyi previously reported that U.S. company Cummings Aerospace is developing an upgraded version of its Hellhound S4 jet-powered drone, adapted for use in the Golden Dome U.S. missile defense program.