Jane Edwards
Boeing has launched two projects as part of the Hypersonics Challenge introduced by the Department of Defense and its Detroit-based manufacturing innovation institute LIFT.
The company will work with Powdermet on the first project that seeks to demonstrate the production of metal matrix composites for hypersonic vehicle demonstrators, LIFT said Thursday.
Boeing will team up with RPM Innovations and Intelligent Optical Systems to develop in-situ monitoring sensors and non-destructive evaluation measures that could be used in laser-directed energy deposition process for hypersonic applications.
“These projects will benefit the entire American manufacturing base, helping spur technology development from material producers all the way up to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” said Austin Mann, metallurgist/materials engineer at Boeing Research & Technology and lead on the first project.
DOD and LIFT launched the Hypersonics Challenge in 2021 and started projects with Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin and ATC Materials through the challenge.
