Darpa Budget Supports Hypersonics

Photo: Darpa

Feb 14, 2012 By Graham Warwick - aerospace daily and defense report

New programs to continue research into boost-glide hypersonic weapons for tactical and global precision strike are included in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) $2.82 billion budget request for fiscal 2013.

The agency’s top line is essentially unchanged from fiscal 2012, but this disguises significant ramp-ups in spending on research into advanced cybersecurity and information technology to protect military networks. Darpa is seeking $25 million for cyber-sciences and $50 million for cyber-technology programs in fiscal 2013, almost double the 2012 spending. Funding levels are planned to double again by fiscal 2016.

New starts planned for 2013 include the Collaborative Hypersonic Research (CHR) program to demonstrate a boost-glide vehicle as a precursor to a tactical long-range strike weapon capable of launch on a 21-in. or larger booster.

Darpa is seeking $11 million in 2013 to start the “flight experiment-intensive” CHR program, which is intended to build on the U.S./Australian HiFire multi-flight hypersonic test effort as well as the agency’s two brief HTV-2 flights. As a follow-on the HTV-2, another $38 million is sought for the hypersonic technologies program to investigate aerodynamic, materials, guidance and communications technologies for long-range hypersonic cruise.

Both Darpa projects are intended to support the Pentagon’s conventional prompt global strike program.

Another planned new start is the vertical takeoff and landing X-plane program, for which $9.6 million is sought in 2013, to demonstrate a rotary-wing aircraft with speed exceeding 250 kt. and improved performance, efficiency and survivability.

The counter-laser technologies program, starting with $4.1 million in 2013, is designed to develop technology to protect U.S. weapons platforms from high-energy lasers, while the electro-optical warfare program, at $3.35 million, is expected to demonstrate ways to defeat electro-optical/infrared and laser sensors and communication links.

The video-rate synthetic aperture radar program, starting with $6.5 million in 2013, is planned to demonstrate a real-time spotlight SAR sensor to give Air Force special-operations AC-130J gunships a precision-targeting capability through clouds.

The multi-function optical sensor program, at $5.5 million, is on tap to develop technology for a non-cooperative target identification and fire-control system on fighter aircraft and bombers combining electro-optical sensors and multi-band lasers.

Several space technology programs are recommended for funding boosts in 2013. These include the SeeMe program to develop inexpensive, small imaging satellites, and the Airborne Launch Assist Space Access program to demonstrate an aircraft-based launch system.

There are funding increases for other space programs as they move toward flight demonstrations. These include the System F6 fractionated satellite architecture and Phoenix geostationary satellite servicing program.