DARPA to Work With Raytheon on Gambit Rotating Detonation Engine

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Raytheon, an RTX business, a contract for the Gambit engine development program.

Under the contract, Raytheon will use performance models and real-world data from previous tests to design an air-breathing propulsion system that uses a rotating detonation engine. In theory, rotating detonation engines can produce more thrust than combustion engines while using less fuel, enabling longer endurance and more payload capacity.

Work on the program could enable quicker and more effective responses to advanced threats, RTX said.

DARPA’s Gambit program aims to develop RDEs in two phases. The first phase focuses on preliminary designs while phase two focuses on detailed designs, fabrication and testing. The goal is to create a propulsion system that is more compact than conventional ramjet engines and less complex than gas turbine engines.

RTX has been actively working with the Department of Defense in developing new capabilities and technologies for warfighters.

In early September, Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force achieved the first flight test for the AIM-120C-8 missile by launching it from an F-15C Eagle fighter jet. Raytheon used model-based systems engineering and digital technologies to design the missile, upgrade components and improve guidance system processors.