Nichols Martin
Raytheon has secured a potential $63.3M contract to help the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency further the development of a tactical boost glide system designed to operate at a hypersonic speed.
The project, jointly supported by DARPA and the U.S. Air Force, will include a critical design review for an air-launched weapons system that would travel faster than Mach 5, the company said Tuesday.
Thomas Bussing, vice president of advanced missile systems at Raytheon, said the company "is working closely with our customers to quickly field these advanced weapon systems and provide our nation's military with the tools they need to stay ahead of the escalating threat."
The U.S. military aims to deploy hypersonic weapons as part of efforts to accelerate response times in long-range engagements.
According to DARPA, the rocket in a boost glide system would accelerate its payload that would then eject and glide toward a target.
