High-Speed/Hypersonic Test and Evaluation Infrastructure Capabilities Study

Abstract

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has designated Hypersonics a transformational technology. This study is focused on the systems development test and evaluation (T&E) of air-breathing high-speed and hypersonic (HS/H) war fighting capabilities. The study includes consideration of T&E capability requirements for modeling and simulation (M&S), ground test, and flight test and addresses potential T&E science and technologies required to support future T&E requirements. The study also focuses on defining the HS/H weapon systems development capability requirements, where airbreathing propulsion is employed, necessary over the next 15 years to successfully develop and sustain weapon system and access to space capabilities currently emerging from HS/H technologies. In 2004 the National Aerospace Initiative (NAI) refocused Service and DARPA HS/H Science and Technology (S&T) spending to mature HS/H expendable and reusable weapons and space technologies at targeted “off-ramps” in 2010, 2015, and 2020. There is enough confidence in the potential of HS/H technology that mission applications ascribed to the NAI HS/H technologies clearly indicate HS/H weapon systems are emerging as viable and attractive solutions to a number of DoD capability requirements. The U. S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (OSD, DOT&E), directed that a study be performed (1) to reexamine the ability of existing DoD and NASA infrastructure to support required engineering and systems development of HS/H technologies into weapon systems and (2) to produce an HS/H T&E capability requirements roadmap to guide investments in M&S, ground-test, and flight-test capabilities and related facilities studies/research needed. Not surprisingly, this study has reaffirmed the conclusions of scientists and engineers in numerous previous studies. The current U. S. national Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) infrastructure is inadequate to effectively and efficiently transform most emerging HS/H technologies into military flight systems capabilities. The modeling and simulation, ground, and flight evaluation infrastructure must be upgraded so that the products of S&T can be applied to the development of advanced weapon systems.