US government successfully tests its new 'air-breathing' weapon

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has said its successfully tested a new 'air-breathing' weapon called HAWC.

Published
Updated
1 minute & 19 seconds read time

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced a successful test flight of a new weapon called HAWC.

US government successfully tests its new 'air-breathing' weapon 01

DARPA, along with the U.S. Air Force, conducted a successful test flight of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). The new weapon concept is a missile that is released from an aircraft; the difference between HAWC and traditional missiles is that HAWC's engine compresses incoming air that has been mixed with hydrocarbon fuel.

HAWC's engines then ignite the mixture of fast-flowing air and hydrocarbon fuel, creating an explosive amount of thrust that causes HAWC to travel five times greater than the speed of sound (Mach 5). DARPA states in its announcement that the missile operates best in "oxygen-rich" atmospheres and that the success of the test flight is a demonstration that a hypersonic missile could strike a target much more quickly than subsonic missiles.

Andrew "Tippy" Knoedler, HAWC program manager in DARPA's Tactical Technology Office, said, "The HAWC free flight test was a successful demonstration of the capabilities that will make hypersonic cruise missiles a highly effective tool for our warfighters. This brings us one step closer to transitioning HAWC to a program of record that offers next generation capability to the U.S. military."

Adding, "HAWC's successful free flight test is the culmination of years of successful government and industry partnership, where a single, purpose-driven team accomplished an extremely challenging goal through intense collaboration. This historic flight would not have been possible without the dedication of industry, U.S. Air Force, and Navy flight test personnel who persevered through the pandemic to make the magic happen."

For more information on this story, check out this link here.

Buy at Amazon

CORIRESHA Mens Apollo NASA Patches Slim Fit Bomber Jackets Windbreaker

TodayYesterday7 days ago30 days ago
$37.99$37.99$37.99
* Prices last scanned on 3/28/2024 at 6:28 am CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.
NEWS SOURCE:darpa.mil

Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms. Instead of typical FPS, Jak holds a very special spot in his heart for RTS games.

Newsletter Subscription

Related Tags