VALT Hypersonic Flight Testbed / Booster

Hypersonic system development is a priority for the Department of Defense (DoD) modernization programs. Development of hypersonic systems require the effective implementation of three design tools; flight testing, ground testing, and numerical and computational modeling and simulation. Of these three tools, flight data is the most critical for hypersonic systems because it provides information needed to correlate and validate ground and modeling tools. Unfortunately, the high cost and long schedules of current hypersonic flight testing severely impedes hypersonic system development. The proposed effort seeks to demonstrate a rapid, low-cost hypersonic flight system capability that will expedite acquiring critical flight data. The innovative VALT (Vertical Air-breathing Launch Technology) flight system incorporates high-speed air-breathing and rocket propulsion that dramatically reduces weight, size and cost of hypersonic flight platform that will ultimately accelerate the development of hypersonic systems for missile defense and other DoD applications. Approved for Public Release | 20-MDA-10601 (19 Oct 20)