The Missile Defense Agency has completed a flight test of its Hypersonic Test Bed. The agency said Tuesday that a sounding rocket was used to propel a glide vehicle into hypersonic flight during the test, designated as HTB-2.
“HTB-2 demonstrates our ability to affordably replicate hypersonic capabilities to enable testing of future hypersonic defense capabilities,” commented Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, director of the MDA and a Wash100 awardee.
The test was conducted at Wallops Island in Virginia.
HTB’s Second-Ever Flight Test
The HTB is a glide vehicle that will serve as a common platform for evaluating hypersonic technology and accelerate the development for military use.
The flight test on Tuesday is the second ever for the HTB. In June, MDA and mission partners conducted the initial flight of the test bed. Dubbed HTB-1, the test enabled the agency to gather data on the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor.
Collins said data from HTB-2 will be used to guide the development of hypersonic technologies that can operate in dynamic flight environments and pave the way for hypersonic missile defense capabilities.
