Defense Department to Invest on Improving Hypersonic Flight Tests

The Department of Defense is increasing its hypersonic flight tests amid growing tension between the United States and China.

To address the issue, the Defense Department’s Test Resource Management Center has been focused on two hypersonic flight tests over the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. TRMC recently received three uncrewed Range Hawk aircraft as part of the SkyRange program to provide the DOD with a flexible, airborne testing infrastructure, UAS Magazine reported.

Director George Rumford said the SkyRange has increased its hypersonic flight test cadence to 50 tests a week.

The Pentagon also launched a program to accelerate hypersonic testing capabilities. The agency is collaborating with the Defense Innovation Unit to advance the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed program to conduct one flight per week.

The U.S. Space Force is another government entity investing in hypersonics. In March 2023, the service announced funding for a monitoring system to track hypersonic weapons in flight.