WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2020) The Department of Defense is already working on a an air-launched hypersonic scramjet cruise missile to be fired from US Navy F/A-18 aircraft, Joint Hypersonics Transition Office Director Gillian Bussey told a telephone press conference.
"We are working on an option for the Navy that is compatible for an F-18 operating off an aircraft carrier," Bussey said on Monday. "We have a contract with Boeing to mature a dual mode scramjet design. AFRL [Air Force Research Laboratory] is a program manager on this effort. Boeing is cooperating with Aerojet Rocketdyne," Bussey said on Monday.
Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mark Lewis said the Defense Department had set itself a target date of 2028 to deliver operational hypersonic weapons to the US armed forces.
"We want to go as quickly as we can. [The] 2028 delivery of new capabilities is a line in the sand. ... We do believe we are in a bit of a race right now," Lewis said.
Bussey said the Defense Department's hypersonics development program was giving priority to producing the necessary materials and manufacturing capabilities as well as developing the air-breathing propulsion units necessary for the new hypersonic systems.
