These next-generation UAS will provide the U.S. military and its allies with new capabilities to counter near-peer adversaries. By developing affordable hypersonic drones, the partnership also seeks to enhance stockpiles of advanced aerial systems, improving operational readiness.
Beyond military applications, the technology has potential implications for future spaceplane development. The ability to launch and land from conventional runways could revolutionise satellite deployment, with over 50,000 commercial satellites expected to enter orbit in the coming years.
Cummings Aerospace will contribute its Hellhound UAS platform, a modular unmanned aircraft with multiple specialised variants. A new version of the Hellhound is being developed to accommodate ATRX’s Air Turbo Rocket (ATR), a propulsion system capable of reaching speeds five times the speed of sound.
The Hellhound’s affordability stems from its 3D-printed modular design and use of commercial off-the-shelf hardware. Its ability to rapidly swap payloads in under five minutes without tools further enhances its adaptability for different mission requirements.
ATRX’s Air Turbo Rocket has undergone multiple prototype tests and is designed to operate at hypersonic speeds. The collaboration with Cummings Aerospace will provide an opportunity to validate its performance in real-world flight conditions, reducing development risks for future spaceplane projects.
Sheila Cummings, CEO of Cummings Aerospace, highlighted the growing need for high-speed aerial systems that can operate in contested airspace. She stated that the partnership with ATRX will enable the development of affordable UAS capable of combining speed and range in a single platform.
Felix Bustos III, CEO of ATRX, emphasised the importance of this collaboration in accelerating spaceplane development. He noted that using a flight-proven airframe to test the ATR engine would streamline the process of bringing hypersonic and space-access technologies to market.
Bustos also underscored the strategic role of Huntsville, Alabama, in the project, citing its skilled workforce and potential to become a hub for hypersonic and spaceplane manufacturing. The companies plan to leverage the city’s aerospace expertise to advance their development efforts.
The next phase of the partnership will focus on integrating the ATR engine into a Hellhound variant optimised for high-speed flight. Subsonic and supersonic flight tests are expected to begin soon, marking a significant step towards operational deployment.
While this collaboration centres on a new ATR-equipped Hellhound, Cummings Aerospace continues to advance other UAS projects. The Hellhound S3 variant, developed for the U.S. Army’s Loitering Munition programme, recently completed a series of successful flight tests.
