Dynetics Awarded New Contract to Increase Hypersonic Flight Testing Tempo

Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, has been awarded a contract to increase the capacity for America's hypersonic flight testing. The program, known as Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB), was awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense.

MACH-TB supports hypersonic programs by creating opportunities to test technologies with robust, agile and modular approaches. It will demonstrate ways to affordably prototype a test bed that leverages multiple, commercially-available launch vehicles for hypersonic payloads. The data collected will provide insight to the DoD on technology improvement and capability validation. This will enable more robust and successful developments of hypersonic weapon systems. Additionally, MACH-TB will provide a modular Experimental Glide Body (EGB) to create opportunities for technologies to be tested in relevant hypersonic environments to inform acquisition decisions for weapon systems.

"Hypersonics are a top priority for our nation, and we're honored to be a part of this innovative and vital initiative," said Leidos' Dynetics Group President Steve Cook.

This hypersonics flight test bed will bring to fruition a centralized hypersonic testing capability that can be leveraged by Navy Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), Army Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Air Force hypersonics programs, DoD research programs, small businesses, industry and academia stakeholders. This program was initiated by the Navy's CPS Program and will be managed by OSD's Test Resources Management Center (TRMC) and executed by NSWC Crane.

Dynetics will work with the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) and a team of over 20 partners across industry, small businesses, national laboratories and academia to develop and execute the program. Planned partners include Peraton, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Stratolaunch, JRC Integrated Systems, NineTwelve Institute, Corvid, SpinLaunch, Varda, Kitty Hawk Technologies, Systima Division of Karman Space and Defense, Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, X-Bow Systems, RLNS and other hypersonic experts.   

"We have always been fortunate to work in an industry where missions align on a single focus: protecting our nation," Cook said. "Our team is comprised of the some of the best in the industry and dedicated to solving tomorrow's problems today."

Work will be performed in Crane, Indiana, Huntsville, Alabama, and the National Capital Region.