GE Aerospace has won a Defence Innovation Unit contract to advance a liquid-fuelled hypersonic test bed for the Pentagon’s HyCAT programme, moving its Mach 5 Derecho project into the next stage of development. The work will focus on integrating the all-up-round test platform and qualifying key subsystems as the company prepares for flight testing of its ramjet-based hypersonic propulsion technology.
The programme builds on concept work funded in 2023 and is aimed at expanding the military’s high-cadence airborne hypersonic test capacity. GE’s Edison Works hypersonics team is developing the vehicle as an air-launched demonstrator, with a solid rocket motor providing boost and a dual-mode ramjet supplying sustained propulsion. Company officials have indicated the next phase should last about 24 months and include flight testing.
HyCAT is intended to give the U.S. defence establishment more frequent access to flight test opportunities for high-speed systems, an area that has become a priority for accelerating development cycles. GE has targeted first flight of the Derecho testbed in 2028, although the launch platform has not been disclosed and project partners have not been named.