Why Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed could be game changer ?
Chapters:
Summary
1. Successful first flight: The Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed completed its first successful flight on June 12, 2024, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
2. Collaborative effort: The test was a joint project involving Kratos' Space & Missile Defense Systems Business Unit, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC).
3. Hypersonic capabilities: The platform achieved hypersonic speeds (over Mach 5) and collected essential data for various experiments.
4. Cost-effective development: Kratos developed Erinyes in three years for under $15 million, with a single unit costing around $5 million (excluding the rocket motor).
5. Game-changing technology: The successful flight is seen as a breakthrough, providing an affordable and robust path for hypersonic experimentation.
6. Future implications: This achievement is significant for the United States' hypersonic technology capabilities, an area of intense global competition.
7. Expanding portfolio: Kratos is also developing the Zeus & Oriole family of Solid Rocket Motors for hypersonic testing and ballistic missile targets.
8. Market strategy: Kratos aims to disrupt the market with affordable, relevant systems in the hypersonic and rocket systems sector.
9. U.S. hypersonic development: The U.S. military currently doesn't have operational hypersonic weapons but is working on 9 different initiatives.
10. Accelerating research: The Erinyes program aims to speed up hypersonic experimentation and development within the U.S. Department of Defense.
This successful test marks a significant step forward in U.S. hypersonic capabilities and could accelerate the development of these technologies for defense purposes.
Transcript
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has announced the successful first flight of its Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed. Erinyes, commonly known in English as the Furies, are unforgiving goddesses of vengeance from Greek mythology. The launch, conducted on June 12, 2024, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, marks a significant milestone in the United States' quest for advanced hypersonic technologies. The flight, designated as Hypersonic Test Bed-1 (HTB-1), was a collaborative effort involving Kratos' Space & Missile Defense Systems Business Unit, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC). First announced in 2021, details about it remain scarce due to its highly secretive nature, with not even a photo available to the public.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why the Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed could be a game-changer.
Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds greater than Mach 5, or more than 3,836 miles per hour, and are highly maneuverable, which makes them difficult to track and shoot down.
Several types of hypersonic weapons are in development by multiple nations, and some have been fielded too. Russia has developed the Zircon missile using a scramjet engine, and Admiral Gorshkov's frigate is armed with it. The Kinzhal missile used against Ukraine is an ALBM or Air-Launched Ballistic Missile that can reach about Mach 9. Russia and China have deployed Avangard & DF-ZF respectively, which are Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs).
The extreme speed of hypersonic weapons and the ability to fly in unpredictable paths give them a much higher probability of penetrating modern air defenses. Essentially, hypersonic weapons combine the speed of ballistic missiles with the maneuverability of cruise missiles. This type of weapon will be very hard to track, let alone intercept.
A U.S. DoD document has noted:
"For example, most terrestrial-based radars cannot detect hypersonic weapons until late in the weapon's flight due to line-of-sight limitations of radar detection. This leaves minimal time for a defender to launch interceptors that could neutralize an inbound weapon.
U.S. defense officials have stated that both existing terrestrial- and space-based sensor architectures are insufficient to detect and track hypersonic weapons; former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin has noted that 'hypersonic targets are 10 to 20 times dimmer than what the U.S. normally tracks by satellites in geostationary orbit.'"
The Erinyes platform's first flight successfully achieved hypersonic speeds, allowing for the collection of essential data for various experiments. This data will be invaluable to test teams for validating designs and evaluating new technologies in the hypersonic field.
Dave Carter, President of Kratos' Defense & Rocket Support Systems (DRSS) Division, emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating, "Hypersonic experimenters now have a robust and affordable path across the Technology Readiness Level. The ability to demonstrate experimental technologies on a real hypersonic flight testbed, without adding risk to programs of record, is game-changing." Carter also expressed pride in his team's accomplishment and announced plans for future tests incorporating new experiments.
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said, "The 100% successful flight of the Kratos Erinyes hypersonic vehicle with our MDA and Navy partners is representative of the power of Kratos' approach to be first to market with leading technology systems and products, which accelerates development and delivery schedules, while significantly reducing cost. Kratos' Rocket and Hypersonic systems development programs are positioned to disrupt the market with affordable, relevant systems, and we expect Kratos' hypersonic franchise, including Erinyes, Zeus, Oriole and other systems to be a key contributor to our expected future organic growth trajectory. Kratos is laser-focused on expanding the U.S. National Security Industrial Base, increasing competition, reducing cost and delivering significant value to all Kratos stakeholders, including the MDA, U.S. Navy and other Government customers. Kratos has served the U.S. hypersonic community for decades through novel system and vehicle flight testing."
The company developed Erinyes in three years for under $15 million with a mix of internal investment and congressional funding. The program relies on vehicles like Rocket Lab's HASTE and Stratolaunch's Talon-A to test components and subsystems in a realistic flight environment that mimics the conditions these systems might face as they fly and maneuver at Mach 5 and higher speeds. A single Erinyes costs around $5 million, excluding the rocket motor.
Kratos is also developing the Zeus & Oriole family of Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) as a direct response to the urgent need for affordable commercial launch vehicle stages for hypersonic testing and ballistic missile targets.
After a decade of developing a portfolio of low-cost unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to disrupt the lower end of the military aviation autonomy market, Kratos Defense is now targeting the rapidly growing market for hypersonic vehicles.
This successful demonstration has paved the way for accelerated hypersonic experimentation within the U.S. Department of Defense. Viewers may note that the U.S. military currently doesn't have a single operational hypersonic weapon but is working on 9 different initiatives.
For example, in 2017, Lockheed Martin won the contract to begin ARRW (AGM-183A) development. The company had stated it wanted to meet the desired production targets within three years, but the program got delayed due to technical challenges.
The U.S. military can't afford to lag in the hypersonic race, and it needs the military-industrial complex to step in. The implications of this successful flight extend beyond Kratos and its partners. It marks a major step forward in the United States' hypersonic technology capabilities, an area of intense global competition and strategic importance. The ability to conduct affordable and rapid hypersonic experiments could accelerate the development of these technologies.
The Successful First Flight of Kratos’ Erinyes™ Hypersonic Test Bed Ushers in a New Era in U.S. High-Speed Experimental Research | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc
SAN DIEGO, June 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions,
Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a technology company in the defense, national
security and global markets, announced today that its Space &
Missile Defense Systems Business Unit, a part of Kratos’ Defense &
Rocket Support Systems (DRSS) Division, supported the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), in the successful launch and flight of the Kratos Erinyes™ Hypersonic Test Bed, on June 12, 2024, from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia.
This successful first flight of the Erinyes vehicle demonstrates a new
and novel platform capability for rapid hypersonic experimentation for
the U.S. Department of Defense.
The exercise, designated Hypersonic Test Bed-1 (HTB-1), demonstrated hypersonic flight that enabled the collection of data for multiple experiments to be provided to test teams for design validation and evaluation of new technologies.
“Hypersonic experimenters now have a robust and affordable path across the TRL [Technology Readiness Level]. The ability to demonstrate experimental technologies on a real hypersonic flight testbed, without adding risk to programs of record, is game-changing,” stated Dave Carter, President of Kratos’ DRSS Division. “Following this success, we will turn to preparing for our next test, incorporating a new set of experiments. I couldn’t be prouder of our team.”
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said, “The 100% successful flight of the Kratos Erinyes hypersonic vehicle with our MDA and Navy partners is representative of the power of Kratos’ approach to be first to market with leading technology systems and products, which accelerates development and delivery schedules, while significantly reducing cost. Kratos’ Rocket and Hypersonic systems development programs are positioned to disrupt the market with affordable, relevant systems, and we expect Kratos’ hypersonic franchise, including Erinyes, Zeus, Oriole and other systems to be a key contributor to our expected future organic growth trajectory. Kratos is laser focused on expanding the U.S. National Security Industrial Base, increasing competition, reducing cost and delivering significant value to all Kratos stakeholders, including the MDA, U.S. Navy and other Government customers. Kratos has served the U.S. hypersonic community for decades through novel system and vehicle flight testing.”
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions,
Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology, products, system and software
company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial
markets. Kratos makes true internally funded research, development,
capital and other investments, to rapidly develop, produce and field
solutions that address our customers’ mission critical needs and
requirements. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we seek to
utilize proven, leading edge approaches and technology, not unproven
bleeding edge approaches or technology, with Kratos’ approach designed
to reduce cost, schedule and risk, enabling us to be first to market
with cost effective solutions. We believe that Kratos is known as an
innovative disruptive change agent in the industry, a company that is an
expert in designing products and systems up front for successful rapid,
large quantity, low cost future manufacturing which is a value add
competitive differentiator for our large traditional prime system
integrator partners and also to our government and commercial customers.
Kratos intends to pursue program and contract opportunities as the
prime or lead contractor when we believe that our probability of win
(PWin) is high and any investment required by Kratos is within our
capital resource comfort level. We intend to partner and team with a
large, traditional system integrator when our assessment of PWin is
greater or required investment is beyond Kratos’ comfort level. Kratos’
primary business areas include virtualized ground systems for satellites
and space vehicles including software for command & control (C2)
and telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C), jet powered unmanned
aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles and rocket systems, propulsion
systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems,
space craft and launch systems, C5ISR and microwave electronic products
for missile, radar, missile defense, space, satellite, counter UAS,
directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual &
augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. For more
information, visit www.KratosDefense.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain
statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the
basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the
management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and
uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no
obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes
that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed
or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further
discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as
well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the
risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the
year ended December 31, 2023, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos.
Press Contact:
Claire Burghoff
claire.burghoff@kratosdefense.com
Investor Information:
877-934-4687
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Source: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Success: Kratos’ Hypersonic Test Bed Passes Launch Test
IT security company Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced that its space and missile defense systems unit reported a successful launch of the company’s Erinyes Hypersonic Test Bed.
The first launch and flight took place at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on June 12 with support from the Naval Surface Warfare Center and the Missile Defense Agency.
Kratos Hypersonic Flight Is a Game-Changer
According to Kratos, the hypersonic flight achieved during the test will enable data collection for experiments that look to validate and evaluate emerging designs and technologies.
Dave Carter, the president of the company’s defense and rocket support systems division, described the ability to display these technologies on an actual hypersonic flight test bed as “game-changing.”
Kratos Wants to Disrupt the Market
CEO and President Eric DeMarco predicted that Kratos’ hypersonic and rocket systems would “disrupt” the market, highlighting the affordability of the company’s hypersonic franchise, which includes Zeus, Oriole, and Erinyes.
The development also aligns with Kratos’ goal to expand the United States’ security industrial base, increase competition, and deliver value to government customers.
Continuing Hypersonic Testing
Kratos’ latest hypersonic news comes about two months after Aerojet Rocketdyne hot-fired the company’s second Zeus solid rocket motor. Defense Department customers intend to use the motor for ballistic missile defense and hypersonic vehicle testing.
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Image Credit: Shutterstock.com / Michael Vi
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