Munich-headquartered Anglo-German defence and aerospace startup Hypersonica, successfully tested Europe’s first privately developed hypersonic missile prototype, the company announced on Tuesday. The test vehicle was launched at Andøya Space in Norway.
During the test flight, the prototype missile achieved a range of over 300km, topping velocities of Mach 6 – six times the speed of sound. The startup states all systems operated nominally throughout the flight, with system performance validated at hypersonic speeds down to the subcomponent level.
“Our test flight yielded invaluable datasets that will inform the design and development of future high‑speed strike systems and enhance our ability to analyse adversary weapon profiles. As a privately funded startup, our speed from design to the launchpad in just 9 months should recalibrate expectations about the costs and time requireded to develop this crucial capability,” Hypersonica co-founders Dr. Philipp Kerth (CEO) and Dr. Marc Ewenz (CTO) stated.
Founded in 2024 by University of Oxford PhDs and German nationals Dr. Marc Ewenz and Dr. Philipp Kerth, Hypersonica’s goal is to develop hypersonic strike capability by 2029. This timeline is a phased approach with successive test flights aimed at achieving hypersonic flight, advanced flight control at hypersonic speeds, complex manoeuvrability, and full mission requirements.
The firm has already raised €23 million in a Series A financing round, which will accelerate Hypersonica’s roadmap toward full-scale flight testing launchning in the first quarter of 2026. The round was led by Plural with participation from Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND) as well as existing investors General Catalyst – who led Hypersonica’s Seed round – and 201 Ventures.
If the project proceeds as planned, it will enable efforts to assist meet the demand from NATO member states for deep precision strike capabilities – a critical gap in Europe’s defence portfolio – amid Russia’s deployment of its Oreshnik hypersonic missile system, which Moscow has applyd twice against Ukraine, and in light of European doubts about the reliability of the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration.
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