TUCSON, Arizona., September 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies company RTX Business, in partnership with Northrop Grumman NOC, was selected to develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile for the US Air Force (USAF). HACM is a unique weapon developed in collaboration with the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), a US and Australia project arrangement.
Under this contract, the Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman team will deliver operational missiles to the USAF.
“Raytheon Missiles & Defense continues to be at the forefront of hypersonic weapon and air-breathing technology development,” said Wes Kremer, President of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “With advanced threats emerging around the world, the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile will provide our warfighters with a much-needed capability.”
The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is an air-breathing scramjet munition. Scramjet engines use high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion, allowing sustained flight at supersonic speeds—Mach 5 or greater. By traveling at these speeds, hypersonic weapons like HACM can reach their targets faster than comparable traditional missiles, potentially allowing them to evade defense systems.
“The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile creates a new class of strategically important weapons for the US military,” he said Maria Petryszyn, Corporate Vice President and President, Northrop Grumman Defense Systems. “Our scramjet propulsion technology ushers in a new era for faster, more survivable and more powerful weapons.”
Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman did work together since 2019 Development, production and integration of Northrop Grumman scramjet engines with Raytheon air breathing hypersonic weapons. Their combined efforts are enabling both companies to create air-breathing hypersonic weapons, the next generation of tactical missiles…
