Company Rocket Lab, based in California, strengthens its position in the field of hypersonic technology. The military departments of the United States and Great Britain included the company in the list of potential partners within the framework of multi-billion dollar programs for the creation and testing of hypersonic systems.
This allows Rocket Lab to bid for contracts in both programs and offer its HASTE suborbital rocket as a hypersonic test platform.
About the HASTE rocket
HASTE missile (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) developed on the basis of a proven platform Electron and is intended for high -speed suborbital launches. It is already used as a test stand for promising hypersonic solutions, and can now serve both states as part of official defense programs.
The platform allows for more frequent and affordable testing, which is critical for technology development, which require a lot of iteration and flexibility. Rocket Lab already positions Hastete as a commercially advantageous alternative for national defense agencies.
About US and UK's defense programs
US program, which air forces administer, has a budget 46 billions of dollars and is called Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract.
British project, initiated by the UK Ministry of Defense, called Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework. Its budget is 1 Billion pounds (about 1,3 billion US dollars).
Participation in these programs is an important step for Rocket Lab on the way to leadership in the field of hypersonic systems. Haste's platform allows you to combine the development effectively, testing and launch within one decision, that meets the current needs of both countries in the field of defense technologies.