Australian hypersonic flight pioneer Hypersonix Launch Systems has successfully completed the first flight of its DART AE hypersonic aircraft, marking a major milestone in the development of advanced hypersonic systems. The mission, titled That’s Not A Knife, lifted off at 7pm Eastern on Friday, February 27th (11am AEDT on Saturday, February 28th) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 within the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, aboard Rocket Lab’s HASTE launch vehicle. The flight was conducted under the US Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
Hypersonic flight refers to speeds above Mach 5, more than five times the speed of sound. Hypersonix is developing a new class of autonomous hypersonic aircraft capable of sustained flight up to Mach 12. Its flagship DART AE is a 3.5-metre autonomous hypersonic aircraft designed to validate propulsion, materials, sensors and guidance systems in real hypersonic flight conditions.
During the mission, HASTE carried DART AE to the planned deployment point in the upper atmosphere. DART AE then executed its hypersonic mission, gathering invaluable technical data for the team to analyse in the coming weeks.
Hypersonix co-founder Dr Michael Smart, a former NASA research scientist and former Chair of Hypersonic Propulsion at the University of Queensland, said the mission confirmed years of technical work. “This mission allowed us to test propulsion, materials and control systems in real hypersonic conditions,” Dr Smart said. “At these speeds and temperatures, there is no substitute for flight data. The results from this mission will directly shape the design of future operational hypersonic aircraft.”
Hypersonix CEO Matt Hill said the successful mission represents a defining moment for the company and for Australia’s advanced aerospace capability. “This flight reflects years of focused engineering work and the confidence placed in us by our partners,” Mr Hill said. “Successfully flying DART AE in a true hypersonic environment confirms that an Australian company can design, build and operate technology in one of the most demanding flight regimes on Earth. It is an important step toward delivering hypersonic systems that are operationally relevant for Australia and its allies.”
The successful mission follows Hypersonix’s recent $46 million Series A funding round, backed by Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Queensland Investment Corporation. The round was led by High Tor Capital, a UK investor in national security and frontier technology, with European defence company Saab and Polish family office RKKVC also supporting the raise. The funding is accelerating Hypersonix’s flight test program, expanding advanced manufacturing capability in Queensland and fast-tracking development of the company’s next hypersonic platform, VISR (Velos Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance). Hypersonix currently employs more than 50 people in Brisbane across aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and testing roles.
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Imagine the potentials this opens up:
1 a fast or emergency satellite launching system that could allow ADF to keep a supply of minisats on hand and launch them only when needed.
2 A Strategic reconnaissance platform that could do a similar job to the old SR71 Blackbird aircraft but faster and higher.
3 A intermediate range strike system that would allow a quick response strike capability out into the wider region if made with a 2000km+ range. Giving ADF the ability to take out targets well north of Indonesia maybe even as far as Singapore. That would give us a really effective A2AD system then.
4. An anti-satellite system to launch at adversary satellites and deny them comm’s, assisted navigation and observation capabilities over our neighborhood.
If they can even develop just 2 of these capabilities from this it would change the calculation of dealing with us in conflict and really solidify our A2AD system.
I feel there is a future far more important, in that these machines can be printed and quite possibly in a far larger format just running on Hydrogen. The implications are immense to say the very least.
Agree – a very interesting concept.
Gilmour Rockets/Missiles in North Queensland https://www.gspace.com/ may have a big future as launch vehicles for the DART AE hypersonic aircraft/warhead.