Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has been selected for a five-year Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract to spearhead the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0 under Task Area 1.
The agreement is valued at up to $1.45bn should all options be exercised.
Test Resource Management Center director George Rumford said: “We are excited to continue the success of the MACH-TB programme with this award.
“MACH-TB is an essential tool to accelerate science and technology experiments into next generation, leap-ahead hypersonic capabilities for our nation.”
Under this contract, Kratos has secured the leading position for Task Area 1, which focuses on Systems Engineering, Integration, and Testing (SEIT). Their role encompasses the coordination of integrated subscale and full-scale projects, as well as air launch services aimed at enhancing the frequency of affordable hypersonic flight tests.
Alongside Kratos, a coalition of subcontractors will contribute their expertise in areas such as systems engineering, assembly, integration, and testing (AI&T), as well as mission planning, execution, and launch operations.
The collaborative group working with Kratos includes CFD Research, Corvid Technologies, JRC, Koda Technologies, Leidos, Northwind, PAR Systems, Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch, and academic institutions such as the University of Minnesota and Purdue University, among others.
Kratos Defense and Rocket Support Services Division president Dave Carter said: “With the recent successes of our low-cost Erinyes Hypersonic Flyer and Zeus Solid Rocket Motors, Kratos is a leader in the testing and fielding of hypersonic systems. We are very excited to bring this unmatched expertise to the MACH-TB 2.0 programme.”
This initiative by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)) Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) is part of an effort to bolster OUSD's National Hypersonic Initiative 2.0.
The MACH-TB 2.0 programme aims to establish a cost-effective platform that bridges the gap between ground-based hypersonic tests and comprehensive system-level flight trials.
The expected outcomes include mitigating development risks associated with hypersonics, expediting the overall development timeline, and ensuring swift delivery of advanced hypersonic capabilities to military personnel.
