Indiana Could Lead Hypersonic Tech Future

Each multi-year agreement includes the potential for increased scope and funding levels.

Indiana could play a key role in the future of hypersonic technology, according to the chief executive officer of the National Security Technology Accelerator. The North Carolina-based nonprofit has offices in Bloomington and is working with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane on a program to work on the military priority, which includes weapons or supply vehicles that travel over five times the speed of sound. Tim Greeff says the organization’s partnership with Crane can be an important part of making sure the United States keeps up with China and Russia on hypersonic technology.

During an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Greeff said, when it comes to the future of hypersonic technology, "all the roads lead back to Indiana."

Crane is also working with the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University on the effort. The schools recently partnered to develop and launch a large wind tunnel for testing hypersonic technologies, with plans to build several more. In addition, Crane is looking to work with traditional and non-traditional defense companies that are working on the technology in the private sector.

The accelerator says its hypersonic partnership is part of a larger effort underway at Crane to address Department of Defense priorities. In addition to hypersonic capabilities, the initiative is also focusing on machine learning, microelectronics and other warfare technologies. The prototyping program is set to be active for up to 10 years.