Photo: Kratos
Whenever the name Kratos pops up in a conversation, most of us average Joes with an inclination to gaming instantly imagine a demigod son of Zeus fighting all sorts of evils and enemies in Santa Monica Studio’s PS4 and PS5 hits God of War and God of War Ragnarok. For the people in the military-industrial complex the name however is synonymous with a major defense contractor.
Maker of anything from space exploration hardware to the mighty Valkyrie drone, Kratos’ name can be found in the darkest corners of the defense industry, and soon enough, it'll also be tied to the Expendable Hypersonic Multi-Mission Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) and Strike Program.
Ran by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the program has a mouthful of a name, and because of that it has been nicknamed Mayhem. Its goal is to develop an air-breathing hypersonic weapon that dwarfs all other projects of this kind currently on the table.
Officially, AFRL awarded the Mayhem $330+ contract at the end of last year to Leidos, but as things usually roll in defense, the company quickly brought on board some partners.
The one to join the effort most recently is the aforementioned Kratos, which has been tapped to assist Leidos and two other groups, Calspan and Draper, with coming up with the new weapon system. This alliance of companies will look into anything from design to the making of prototypes and testing of what is essentially a hypersonic cruise missile.
AFRL is knee-deep in hypersonic research, with the most prominent and perhaps most advanced project being the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). In April 2022, a prototype of the weapon flew at hypersonic speeds for the first time, hitting 3,836 mph (6,173 kph) and altitudes of over 65,000 feet (19,812 meters). Just so you know, 3,836 mph is Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, and the entry point into the hypersonic realm.
Mayhem will have to do the same, using a yet unknown kind of scramjet engine to generate enough thrust to push it over the Mach 5 threshold. Unlike other projects, this one is supposed to be of a larger class, meaning it should be capable of exceeding everything else when it comes to both range and payload capacity. We reckon details on what exactly that means is for now not something that can be shared with the public.
Leidos, Kratos and the bunch are expected to come up with a complete hypersonic weapons system, from subsystems and airframe to propulsion and avionics. It’ll take them some time to do that though, as Mayhem’s initial time of performance, meaning the period of time during which the AFRL could ask for new things, is estimated at over four years.
Ran by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the program has a mouthful of a name, and because of that it has been nicknamed Mayhem. Its goal is to develop an air-breathing hypersonic weapon that dwarfs all other projects of this kind currently on the table.
Officially, AFRL awarded the Mayhem $330+ contract at the end of last year to Leidos, but as things usually roll in defense, the company quickly brought on board some partners.
The one to join the effort most recently is the aforementioned Kratos, which has been tapped to assist Leidos and two other groups, Calspan and Draper, with coming up with the new weapon system. This alliance of companies will look into anything from design to the making of prototypes and testing of what is essentially a hypersonic cruise missile.
AFRL is knee-deep in hypersonic research, with the most prominent and perhaps most advanced project being the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). In April 2022, a prototype of the weapon flew at hypersonic speeds for the first time, hitting 3,836 mph (6,173 kph) and altitudes of over 65,000 feet (19,812 meters). Just so you know, 3,836 mph is Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, and the entry point into the hypersonic realm.
Mayhem will have to do the same, using a yet unknown kind of scramjet engine to generate enough thrust to push it over the Mach 5 threshold. Unlike other projects, this one is supposed to be of a larger class, meaning it should be capable of exceeding everything else when it comes to both range and payload capacity. We reckon details on what exactly that means is for now not something that can be shared with the public.
Leidos, Kratos and the bunch are expected to come up with a complete hypersonic weapons system, from subsystems and airframe to propulsion and avionics. It’ll take them some time to do that though, as Mayhem’s initial time of performance, meaning the period of time during which the AFRL could ask for new things, is estimated at over four years.
Google News