October 29, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Other Defence
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.
May 1, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Turkish defence firm Baykar aims to begin production of its new unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) next year which is already attracting international interest, its chairman Selcuk Bayraktar said.
July 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace
BY: CRAIG HOYLE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' MQ-9B SkyGuardian medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely-piloted air system (RPAS) will make it first transatlantic journey early next month, before appearing at the UK's Royal International Air Tattoo. The aircraft – which forms the basis for the UK Royal Air Force's future Protector RPAS – is scheduled to land at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on the evening of 11 July, and is due to appear in the static display at the 13-15 July RIAT event. Expected to last more than 20h, the non-stop sortie will commence from General Atomics' flight-test and training centre in Grand Forks, North Dakota. On 25 June, the UK Civil Aviation Authority detailed a series of planned airspace restrictions that will be made in support of the SkyGuardian's arrival. These will be activated "for the safety of the remotely-piloted aircraft and other airspace users", it says. "Temporary danger areas will be activated by NOTAM with potentially less than 24 hours' notice," the CAA says. "Each danger area will be managed by an air traffic control unit." During flight testing, the SkyGuardian has demonstrated its ability to remain airborne for more than 48h. "The civilian aircraft, which is certificated and registered through the US Federal Aviation Administration, has been issued permission to operate within UK airspace," the CAA says. RAF operations with at least 20 Protector RG1s are due to commence during the 2020s, with the type – to be certificated for use in non-segregated airspace – to replace the service's current armed Reapers. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/unmanned-skyguardian-to-cross-atlantic-for-riat-debu-449768/
November 10, 2021 | International, Land
Since Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood took over the U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, he's overseen the Pentagon's attempt to build the U.S. hypersonic weapons industrial base, begun fielding hypersonic launchers and other equipment to the first unit to receive the capability and has started building out the first battery of a laser-weapon equipped Stryker combat vehicle.