GE Aerospace to develop Mach 5 hypersonic test vehicle for Pentagon

GE Aerospace has been awarded a contract by the US Defense Innovation Unit to develop an air-launched hypersonic test vehicle named Derecho. The vehicle is designed to reach speeds of Mach 5 and will be used as a test platform for the Pentagon’s Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities program.

The liquid-fueled Derecho will combine a rocket booster with a cruiser powered by GE Aerospace’s dual-mode ramjet technology. A dual-mode ramjet can function as both a conventional ramjet and a scramjet, enabling operation across a broader range of supersonic and hypersonic speeds. The engine uses atmospheric oxygen for combustion instead of carrying an oxidizer.

The new contract will fund full integration of the vehicle and initial qualification and component-level tests of key subsystems. GE Aerospace did not disclose the contract’s value. The company is targeting a first flight of Derecho in 2028.

GE Aerospace began working on the project in 2023 through Innoveering, a company it acquired in 2022, with support from Specter Aerospace and Starfighters International. The project advanced through subsystem refinement and evaluation in 2024.