The American defense company Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has signed a contract with the US Department of Defense worth $1.45 billion for the development and testing of hypersonic weapons. According to the SpaceNews portal, this contract is one of the Pentagon’s most significant investments in the development of military hypersonic technologies.
The contract will support the MACH-TB program, which aims to accelerate the development of weapons capable of traveling at speeds greater than Mach 5.
Kratos, along with other contractors including Leidos, Rocket Lab and Stratolaunch, will use commercial infrastructure and launch service providers to increase the frequency of hypersonic flight testing. The company will also provide design, integration and testing services for hypersonic weapons systems.
“The MACH-TB program focuses on increasing the power and frequency of flight and ground testing of hypersonic weapons systems. This is the next stage in the development of the MACH-TB program and an important step in the use of advanced hypersonic capabilities,” the source notes.
