Accelerating Hypersonics Development with Reinforced Carbon-Silicon Carbide (C-SiC) Heat Shields

The U.S. is behind China and Russia in hypersonic weapons development. Russia has both air and sea launch capabilities and has used dozens of hypersonic missiles in Ukraine. China has developed a hypersonic glide vehicle able to strike any target in East/Southeast Asia and large parts of the Pacific. Both near competitors are accelerating the development of undetectable and un-interceptable weapons. In March of this year, President Joe Biden authorized the use of Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III ôto rebuild and expand the nation's domestic hypersonics industrial base. The authority specifically targets air-breathing engines, advanced avionics, guidance systems, as well as constituent materials for hypersonic systems.ö Earlier, in January of this year, the Congressional Budget Office completed their analysis of US hypersonic weapons development, with two of four key conclusions being: (1) ôThe fundamental remaining technological challenge involves managing the extreme heatůshielding hypersonic missilesĺ sensitive electronics, understanding how various materials perform, and predicting aerodynamics at sustained temperatures as high as 3,000░ Fahrenheit...ö, and (2) ôHypersonic missiles could cost one-third more to procure and field than ballistic missiles of the same range with maneuverable warheads.ö Endeavor Composites, Inc, produces unique and innovative non-woven composites that are designed for hypersonic heat shielding, but they can be produced significantly (up to 50%) faster and cheaper than current incumbent materials. Building on experience of matrix carbonization in Carbon-Carbon (C-C) composites, and following lessons learned in processing Silicon Carbide (SiC) fibers into our unique non-woven Silicon Carbide ľ Carbon (SiC-C) components, Endeavor is now exploring the fabrication of Carbon- Silicon Carbide (C-SiC) composites, which promise superior oxidative and thermal performance compared to incumbent materials.