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Second Hypersonic Test Bed flight completed for US Missile Defence Agency

15th January 2025 - 10:50 GMT | by Damian Kemp in London

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The MDA supported NASA’s successful launch of the HTB flyer demonstration on 13 January from Wallops Flight Facility. (Photo: MDA)

The US Missile Defence Agency (MDA) teamed up with other Department of Defense organisations, industry and academia to conduct the test.

The US MDA completed the second flight test of the Hypersonic Test Bed (HTB), a test designated HTB-2, on 13 January, just days after Kratos Defense & Security Solutions was awarded a US$1.5 billion contract to support hypersonic development work.

During HTB-2, a sounding rocket propelled the glide vehicle into hypersonic flight prior to separation.

MDA director Lt Gen Heath Collins said the test “demonstrates our ability to affordably replicate hypersonic capabilities to enable testing of future hypersonic defence capabilities”.

Collins remarked: “The data gained from this flight test will enable further pursuit of state-of-the-art hypersonic technologies that can operate reliably

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