RTX to Develop Rotating Detonation Engine for DARPA

Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, has received a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop Gambit, an air-breathing propulsion demonstration program that uses a novel rotating detonation engine. This type of engine is more compact, provides a higher efficiency propulsion source than conventional missile propulsion and offers the potential for lower costs.

Gambit is a first-of-its-kind engine development program that could support future weapons systems for multiple military services. The compact nature of the engine and its efficient combustion provide a boost in range and speed relative to current long-range weapons, allowing the ability to quickly respond to advanced threats.

"This is a revolutionary propulsion system," said Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon. "We're leveraging existing digital design tools and experience from across the entire RTX business to rapidly prototype this next-generation strike weapon and mature the technology."

Under the contract, RTX will rely heavily on iterative development of performance models which will be anchored by real-world data from incremental system tests. This proven method accelerates learning to provide more certain flight test outcomes, saving both time and cost. Future optional phases of the Gambit program will shift to building hardware to conduct a flight weight free-jet test.

With this contract, RTX becomes the first company to apply rotating detonation engine technology into an actual test system.