The Purdue Applied Research Institute has joined a defense contractor’s team in a $1.45 billion initiative to accelerate the testing of hypersonic flight capabilities.
San Diego-based Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. announced in January that it has received a five-year, $1.45 billion contract from the Pentagon to create an affordable flight test bed to rapidly increase hypersonic flight tests. The initiative is called the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0.
The Purdue Applied Research Institute is among a team of subcontractors that will provide systems engineering, assembly, integration, testing, mission planning, and execution and launch services, Purdue University said in a news release.
“The United States is in a race with peer competitors to deploy hypersonic systems, and a critical part of winning that race is an all-hands-on-deck effort to rebuild our nation’s ability to test in flight,” Mark Lewis, president and CEO of PARI, said in the release. “That’s what MACH-TB is all about and why PARI is so proud to be a part of this incredibly vital national effort, working alongside every major player in the hypersonic community.”
Other organizations involved in the effort include Leidos, Rocket Lab, Koda Technologies, Corvid Technologies, North Wind, JRC Integrated Systems, Stratolaunch, CFD Research, and the University of Minnesota.
The first phase of the program, led by Virginia-based defense contractor Leidos, focused on designing and demonstrating a testbed, Defense News reported.
That project was awarded to Leidos by Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense.
MACH-TB 2.0 aims to significantly increase the number of hypersonic test flights. The U.S. is amid a push toward testing and fielding hypersonic weapons as China and Russia demonstrate progress on the technology, Defense News said.
“We are honored to lead the MACH-TB 2.0 integrated team,” Michael Johns, senior vice president of Kratos SRE, said in the release. “The nation is at a critical point in the need for rapid and affordable hypersonic flight testing to quickly develop and field hypersonic technologies, and the MACH-TB program, with the support of PARI, is filling that need.”