DoD establishes hypersonics center at Naval Surface Warfare Center

The Pentagon established a Joint Hypersonics Transition Office Systems Engineering Field Activity at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., on Thursday.

Mark Lewis, acting deputy under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and JHTO director Gillian Bussey announced the opening in a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony with Gov. Eric Holcomb, according to the Department of Defense.

"The JHTO and its Systems Engineering Field Activity present a signature opportunity for the Department," Lewis said. "Leveraging the capabilities at NSWC Crane, we can not only develop effective hypersonic technologies, but we can also develop them affordably at the speed of relevance to our warfighters. Proactive engineering for affordable upgrades is critical to the long-term sustainability of these systems."

NWSC Crane was recently awarded contracts to advance its hypersonics testing and verification capabilities -- including a $150 million award for an underwater launch test complex and a missile technology evaluation facility.

According to the Pentagon, more than 300 people are working to advance hypersonic technologies at NSWC Crane.

"NSWC Crane has become a critical hub in the hypersonics development ecosystem," said Rick Davidoff, acting director of the JHTO systems engineering field activity.

"This exciting announcement is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of many people," Davidoff said. "The JHTO Field Activity at Crane will allow OSD to leverage earlier and ongoing investments at Crane to help all three Services improve their hypersonic weapons with more rapid, adaptable, and modular upgrades. Indiana and the larger Midwest will have a long-term, critical role in this important national security mission."

Earlier this week Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said a U.S. hypersonic missile test struck within six inches of a target after traveling thousands of miles at Mach 5 or faster.

The Pentagon announcement follows Russia's announcement last week of the successful test-firing of its Zircon hypersonic missile, which it said struck a target 300 miles away after traveling at over 6,100 mph.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Accion Systems to demonstrate its propulsion system in NanoAvionics US rideshare mission
Columbia IL (SPX) Oct 13, 2020
NanoAvionics, a multinational nanosatellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator, has signed a contract with US-company Accion Systems to host their propulsion system, TILE 3, on-board its new rideshare mission for a demonstration flight in 2021. Accion Systems procured this flight as the culmination of an ongoing US government sponsored propulsion program. The nanosatellite for the rideshare mission is based on NanoAvionics flight-proven M6P bus and will include several customer payloads that ... read more