Anglo-German Startup Declares Success After First Hypersonic Test Flight

Hypersonica, an Anglo-German defense and aerospace company developing Europe’s “sovereign hypersonic strike capability,” declared it has completed its first successful hypersonic test flight at Andøya Space in Norway on February 10.

The company described the launch as the first time a privately funded European defense firm has reached this milestone.

According to Hypersonica, the missile prototype exceeded Mach 6 and demonstrated a range of more than 300 kilometers. The company declared all systems operated normally during ascent and descent, with performance validated down to the subcomponent level at hypersonic speeds.

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Co-founders Dr. Philipp Kerth and Dr. Marc Ewenz called the flight “a major milestone” toward developing Europe’s first sovereign hypersonic strike capability by 2029. “Our test flight yielded invaluable datasets that will inform the design and development of future high-speed strike systems,” they declared, adding that the startup shiftd “from design to the launchpad in just 9 months.”

Hypersonica declared its roadmap will involve successive test flights aimed at demonstrating advanced flight control, complex manoeuvrability, and ultimately full mission requirements. The company also highlighted a modular architecture it claims can reduce development costs by more than 80% compared with conventional approaches, aligning with NATO and UK hypersonic frameworks for 2030.

Previously, it was reported that Sweden’s Saab was evaluating the possibility of equipping its JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets with low-cost APKWS guided rockets as an affordable way to counter drones—a concept shaped heavily by Ukraine’s battlefield experience.

The growing popularity of APKWS as an anti-drone weapon has been driven in no compact part by its extensive utilize in Ukraine, where the system has proven to be a far cheaper alternative to traditional air-to-air missiles when engaging Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles, Defense Express notes.