Raytheon, Northrop to Deliver ‘Operationally Ready’ Hypersonic Missile to U.S. Air Force

Raytheon in partnership with Northrop Grumman has been selected to develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) for the U.S. Air Force (U.S.A.F.).

Under this contract, the Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman team will deliver operationally ready missiles to the U.S.A.F.

HACM is a first-of-its-kind weapon developed in conjunction with the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), a U.S. and Australia project arrangement.

"Raytheon Missiles & Defense continues to be at the forefront of hypersonic weapon and air-breathing technology development," said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense."

The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is an air-breathing, scramjet powered munition. Scramjet engines use high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion, which enables sustained flight at hypersonic speeds – Mach 5 or greater.

By traveling at these speeds, hypersonic weapons, like HACM, are able to reach their targets more quickly than similar traditional missiles, allowing them to potentially evade defensive systems, a Raytheon release said.

"The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile creates a new class of strategically important weapons for the U.S. military," said Mary Petryszyn, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Defense Systems.

Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman have been working together since 2019 to develop, produce and integrate Northrop Grumman's scramjet engines onto Raytheon's air-breathing hypersonic weapons.

Raytheon Missiles and Defense Awarded $985.3 Million for HACM

Raytheon Missiles and Defense has been awarded a $985,348,124 task order for the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM), a Pentagon release said September 22.

The task order provides for the HACM weapon system design, development and initial delivery through the performance of model-based critical design review, qualification, integration, manufacturing and testing.

Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by March 2027.