The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is seeking to develop a hypersonic missile capability by the end of this decade.
To achieve that goal, the ministry has invited potential suppliers to join the Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework Agreement.
Seven-year Development Framework
The estimated 1 billion pound ($1.31 billion) framework seeks to provide a route to market up to the Technology Readiness Level 9, a technology’s highest maturity level, in seven years.
“This will be a collaborative enterprise approach to accelerate the Ministry of Defence’s acquisition of an advanced Hypersonic Strike capability,” the MoD stated in a Defence Prior Information Notice.
The multi-supplier framework is also expected to deliver future operational elements of the hypersonic capability.
The MoD will share further details and insights about the program at an “early supplier market engagement day” this summer.
Hypersonic Weapon
A “hypersonic flight refers to an object travelling within Earth’s atmosphere at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5),” the UK government wrote in a June 2023 paper.
It further said hypersonic missiles are “typically defined as those that combine sustained hypersonic flight with significant manoeuvrability while maintaining accurate targeting.”
