November 17, 2024 | International, C4ISR
October 29, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Other Defence
Texas A&M to lead $100m hypersonic research consortium for Pentagon
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Texas A&M University's Engineering Experiment Station a 5-year contract worth $20 million per year to establish and manage the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics.
The consortium will coordinate research and development efforts for technologies needed for hypersonic flight, such as new propulsion and guidance systems. It is also intended to help develop expertise in hypersonic flight within the USA, but also with allied nations Australia, Canada and the UK.
The University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics is expected to start operating this fall. It will coordinate joint projects between the US companies, universities, military services, defence research agencies, as well as other US government organisations, such as NASA and the Department of Energy, says the Pentagon on 26 October.
“The consortium will concentrate on developing hypersonic technologies, investigate efficiencies related to the industrial base, and strengthen partnerships with small and large companies to transition technology and reduce system development timelines,” it says.
Ultimately, the DoD wants to transition academic research to operational weapons faster by joining with research institutions that have modelling and testing capabilities.
“We often have difficulty transitioning [Defense] Department-funded basic research from universities through industry to operational applications,” says Mark Lewis, acting deputy under secretary of defense for research and engineering. “It is a particular challenge in hypersonics, where multiple disciplines must intersect precisely to move forward. The consortium will help us link a deeper understanding of our operational requirements to the exceptional research being conducted across the nation.”
While Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, a state-run research centre located in College Station, will lead the effort, the consortium will also be guided by a board of national experts. Those additional experts will be drawn from the California Institute of Technology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Morgan State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, University of Arizona, the University of California-Los Angeles, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station says it has heard from 41 additional institutions committed to participating in the consortium. The DoD anticipates participation will grow further to include institutions from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Those countries are members of The Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance with the USA (New Zealand is the fifth alliance member, but wasn't mentioned as part of the consortium). Typically, Five Eyes allies are trusted with the most sensitive national intelligence information, in this case the latest research on hypersonic technology.
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December 24, 2023 | International, Aerospace
US Coast Guard keeps its C-27Js grounded
The U.S. Coast Guard is keeping its C-27J aircraft grounded as it checks on cracks found in the fuselage of its 14 aircraft, the service said.
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September 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Dynetics seeks closer soft docking of X-61A Gremlins in next flight test
by Pat Host Dynetics believes it gained enough data from a July flight test of its X-61A Gremlins unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to next time achieve a closer soft docking to the recovery aircraft than the 38 m distance it reached in July. The July flight test was the demonstration of a second X-61A air vehicle as well as the Gremlins airborne recovery system. The X-61A, which weighs 544 kg, flew for a total flight time of 2 hours 12 minutes and flew in formation with a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft from as close as 38 m back and 38 m below the aircraft. Tim Keeter, Dynetics Gremlins programme manager, told Janes on 27 August that the company needed centimetre-level accuracy and precision to get the air vehicle's engagement arm into the 30 cm stabilised towed docking, or capture, device. This process is known as soft docking. Dynetics, Keeter said, advanced the maturity of the system, its confidence in the air vehicle's behaviour, and downloaded enough data where the company is confident it can close that last 38 m for a closer soft docking event in an upcoming flight test. The X-61A that flew in July was Gremlins Air Vehicle (GAV) Number 3, the first flight for this air vehicle. Keeter said Dynetics launched this air vehicle the same way it launched the first one: from a pylon on a C-130 operated by International Air Response (IAR), which offers C-130 services. Dynetics used the same C-130 for both launch and recovery. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/dynetics-seeks-closer-soft-docking-of-x-61a-gremlins-in-next-flight-test