Hypersonica
Hypersonic missile test by Anglo-German startup Hypersonica
An Anglo-German startup carried out Europe’s first private hypersonic test: its missile exceeded Mach 6, reaching more than 7,400 kilometers per hour and flying more than 300 kilometers.
The aerospace company successfully tested the first hypersonic missile developed by a private company in Europe.
The test was carried out on February 3 at Andøya Space in northern Norway, where the Hypersonica prototype surpassed the speed of Mach 6reaching more than 7,400 kilometers per hour and flying more than 300 kilometers.
The speed of development also seems hypersonic: according to Hypersonica, they decorated just 9 months between ideation and testing of the prototype, which could bring Europe closer to having its first self-created hypersonic missiles in 2029, notes the .
“Hyersonica has reached an important milestone on our path towards developing Europe’s first sovereign hypersonic strike capability by 2029”, they highlight Philipp Kerth and Marc Ewenztwo former researchers at the University of Oxford who founded Hypersonica in December 2023, at the company.
According to the company’s note, the missile aligns perfectly with plans for NATO hypersonic weapons development and the United Kingdom — both designed in response to Oreshnikthe “unstoppable” nuclear-capable missile that Russia . and that.
What is known
Hypersonic missiles are generally defined as those capable of flying at more than Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, maintaining maneuverability within the atmosphere. At these speeds, the air surrounding the vehicle compresses and heats up extremelya, which creates thermal management and flight control the main technical challenges.
The company did not detail the exact type of propulsion or the aerodynamic configuration of the prototype, but spoke of its design philosophy.
Hypersonica utilizes a modular architecture which allows for rapid updates and development cycles that take longer months instead of yearswhich would allow acost savings of more than 80% compared to conventional defense programs, according to the company itself.
Europe was forced to strengthen your military muscle at rapid pace, trapped between Putin’s expansionist ambitions and our technological depfinishence on the US.
Moscow has launched its Oreshnik hypersonic missile against Ukraine on two occasions since November 2024, and positioned them in Belarus.
This missile can travel to 13,000 km/hcarry conventional or nuclear warheads and hit tarobtains up to 5,500 km away. Its utilize against critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian region of Lviv, close to the Polish border, and its deployment in Belarus were interpreted by European capitals as a direct warning to NATO.
On the other hand, a report from the SIPRI institute guarantees that imports of American weapons to Europe tripled between 2020 and 2024 in relation to the previous five-year period.
For the first time in two decadesEurope became the main destination for US military exports, rising from 13% to 35% of the total. Two-thirds of the weapons acquired by European NATO states during this period came from American manufacturers.
European rearmament is being led by Germany. Its military budobtain for 2026 reaches 108,200 million euros, more than double that in 2021, and Chancellor Merz has committed to reaching 3.5% of GDP in defense for 2029, prioritizing European purchases, where only 8% of contracts would go to American manufacturers.
Regarding the plan to expand our hypersonic capacity, Europe has several active projects.
Since the 1990s, France has been developing ASN4Gan air-launched hypersonic nuclear missile, and the UK has committed £1,000 million in 2024 to a seven-year program to achieve these capabilities.
Meanwhile, the European Defense Fund has set aside 168 million euros to be applied in 2026 for missile countermeasures and interceptors, through projects such as Hydef and the Hydis 2.
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