La Agencia de Proyectos de Investigaci\u00f3n Avanzada de Defensa (DARPA -USA), en un intento de avanzar m\u00e1s r\u00e1pidamente en urar su programa de armas hipers\u00f3nicas impulsadas por Scramjet (HCM), est\u00e1 buscando $ 60 millones en su presupuesto fiscal 2023 para la pr\u00f3xima fase del concepto de armas hipers\u00f3nicas. La agencia tambi\u00e9n solicita $ 18 millones para su programa Glide Breaker, que avanza en el desarrollo de capacidades para contrarrestar las “amenazas hipers\u00f3nicas emergentes”, en desarrollo en pa\u00edses como China y Rusia entre otros.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in a bid to mature its scramjet-powered hypersonic weapon program, is seeking $60 million in its fiscal 2023 budget for the next phase of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept.<\/p>\n
The new-start program, dubbed MoHAWC, is a successor to HAWC, developed jointly with the Air Force using\u00a0Raytheon and Lockheed Martin<\/a>\u00a0as prime contractors. Both companies conducted successful test flights of their vehicles, with\u00a0Raytheon\u2019s\u00a0<\/a>flying in September and\u00a0Lockheed\u2019s in March<\/a>. The HAWC vehicles are powered by scramjet engines designed to offer better, more efficient performance at hypersonic speeds. Northrop Grumman built the propulsion system for Raytheon\u2019s HAWC vehicle and Aerojet provided Lockheed\u2019s.<\/p>\n With HAWC\u2019s flight-test objectives completed, DARPA will build on that work through MoHAWC. Budget documents show the agency wants to further develop the vehicle\u2019s scramjet propulsion system, upgrade integration algorithms, reduce the size of navigation components and improve its manufacturing approach.<\/p>\n HAWC and its successor are part of the Defense Department\u2019s broader hypersonic weapons portfolio, which has been given higher priority in light of threats from Russia and China. The\u00a0government is expected to spend $15 billion<\/a>\u00a0on the technology between 2015 and 2024.\u00a0Pentagon officials in February\u00a0<\/a>met with defense industry to highlight the urgency of developing hypersonic technology on faster timelines and better understand impediments to fielding these weapons.<\/p>\n The $60 million would support that technology development and fund initial long-lead component procurement for four flight-test systems. DARPA also expects to complete subsystem technology risk-reduction efforts and begin assembly, integration and ground testing of cruisers.<\/p>\n Asked if DARPA plans to buy more HAWC vehicles from Lockheed and Raytheon, spokesman Randy Atkins told C4ISRNET in an April 27 email that any discussion about contracting strategies is \u201cpre-decisional.\u201d DARPA is still gathering lessons from the HAWC flight tests to inform MoHAWC\u2019s next steps, he added.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in DARPA\u2019s request for hypersonic technology development, the agency seeks $30 million for another joint Air Force program called Tactical Boost Glide. The program is developing tactical range boost-glide systems, and DARPA plans to conduct its third flight test in fiscal 2023.<\/p>\n The agency is also requesting $18 million for its Glide Breaker program, which is maturing capabilities to counter \u201cemerging hypersonic threats.\u201d Phase 1 of Glide Breaker demonstrated a divert and attitude control system (DACS) designed to allow a kill vehicle to intercept a hypersonic weapon during its glide phase.<\/p>\n