GA-EMS contracted for hypersonic weapons work
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been awarded a contract by the US Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office to further the development of the Common-Hypersonic Glide Body(C-HGB) and flight test vehicle.
This will support the army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the US Navy’s Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) programmes, and follows previously contracted work that was performed by GA-EMS for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command for the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon – Technology Demonstration programme.
‘As new threats continue to emerge, advancing the development and flight testing of hypersonic vehicle prototypes has become an urgent priority,’ Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, said.
‘Over the past 13 years, we have worked closely with the army and Sandia National Laboratories to design, manufacture and test hypersonic glide body components and technologies. We look forward to leveraging that expertise as this critical capability transitions out of the lab and into a production-ready asset to support the warfighter.’
GA-EMS will provide manufacturing, production, engineering and technical support to integrate, test, and evaluate CHGB and flight test vehicles through system and subsystem-level ground and flight test activities.
The contract will include the manufacture of components, test and integration of vehicle flight components and assemblies, flight test planning and execution, and simulation, validation and verification support.
More from Defence Notes
-
Amazon Project Kuiper emphasises user-friendly solutions for multi-domain connectivity (Studio)
At DSEI 2025, Shephard's Alix Valenti spoke to Project Kuiper's Rich Pang about the importance of enabling seamless communication between allied forces such as NATO members in challenging operational environments.
-
Amazon Project Kuiper teams up with GRC to offer governments unprecedented capabilities (Studio)
At DSEI 2025, Amazon Project Kuiper's Don Brown and GRC's Steve Slater talked to Shephard's Alix Valenti about how their partnership can offer unique capabilities in defence SATCOM to government customers, with a focus on assurance, security and choice.
-
DSEI 2025: Raytheon UK CEO highlights RTX skills, innovation and UK footprint
At DSEI 2025, James Gray, Managing Director and CEO of Raytheon UK (part of RTX), outlines the company’s century-long presence in the UK and its evolving role across defence, aerospace, cyber, and training domains.
-
Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft
The procurement and acceleration production plans – some of which still await approval – across the air and land domains will aim to strengthen the operational needs of the Israel Defense Forces.