DARPA requests industry proposals for next-generation hypersonic cruise missile to beat enemy air defenses
DARPA opened a request for information on August 7 for a hypersonic cruise missile built to fly past five times the speed of sound on an air-breathing engine, not a rocket, per DefenseScoop. Industry proposals are due October 6. The RFI cites rising risk from advanced enemy air d
The Pentagon's research arm is soliciting industry input for a new hypersonic weapon designed to beat the air defense systems of major military rivals. DARPA's Tactical Technology Office issued a request for information on August 7 for a Next Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile, according to DefenseScoop and Aviation Week. The missile would fly faster than five times the speed of sound using an air-breathing engine that draws oxygen from the atmosphere, rather than a rocket that carries its own. DARPA wants greater range, cruise speed and altitude, while pushing for a design cheap enough to build at scale. Industry responses are due October 6, with an in-person briefing for contractors planned for Arlington, Virginia in September. What stands out is the justification DARPA gave for the program: the request for information explicitly cites "increasingly significant challenges from the rapid proliferation and advancement of highly capable Integrated Air Defense Systems" by peer adversaries. That is a rare public admission that the current US missile arsenal may not reliably penetrate the air defense networks China and Russia have built in recent years, and it puts a concrete timeline on how fast Washington is trying to close that gap.