DARPA and the U.S. Air Force have completed captive carry tests of two variants of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) and are ready to proceed to first free-flight testing within the calendar year, DARPA said on Sept. 1. HAWC, which involves Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Raytheon [RTX], seeks to develop and demonstrate critical technologies to enable an effective and affordable air-launched hypersonic cruise missile. The companies "have each tested advanced air vehicle configurations that promise to achieve and sustain…
