DARPA conducts HAWC vehicle’s final flight test. See details

Fourth successful test flight of Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) vehicle was conducted by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This has also brought the program to a close.

A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress plane was used to deploy the HAWC test vehicle. When it was deployed, its rocket booster ignited and propelled the HAWC vehicle to a speed at which its scramjet engine got ignited. Once it was in flight, the vehicle flew for over 300 nautical miles (556 kilometers) and reached altitudes higher than 60,000 feet (18.3 km), as per a DARPA statement.

The DARPA has not given any location or date for the test. It just said that it took place in January 2023. This test marks the completion of the HAWC program, DARPA added. It has now "accomplished all of its initial objectives," the agency said.


The data gathered from these four flight tests will now be used with a new program, More Opportunities with HAWC (MOHAWC), by DARPA. This will be done to build and fly more hypersonic test vehicles with the goal of developing a craft, which will be acquired and used by the U.S. military.

Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne had developed the HAWC weapon version flown in this most recent flight test. In a statement praising the program's success, John Clark, vice president, Lockheed Martin, said that both of our HAWC flight tests launched from an operational aircraft matched performance models and predictions to help rapid development of future hypersonic weapons.

In DARPA's statement, Walter Price, an Air Force deputy for the HAWC program, said that this month's flight has added an exclamation point to the most successful hypersonic airbreathing flight test program in our history. The things we have learned from HAWC will enhance future capabilities of the U.S. Air Force.

FAQs:

1. Who is the head of DARPA?
   Stefanie Tompkins
2. Where is DARPA headquartered?
   Virginia, United States