Raytheon, Northrop to develop air-breathing, hypersonic weapons

PARIS- Northrop Grumman Corporation and Raytheon Company have signed a teaming agreement to develop, produce and integrate Northrop Grumman's scramjet combustors to power Raytheon's air-breathing hypersonic weapons, the companies announced at the Paris Air Show.

The teaming agreement uses the combined capabilities of both companies to accelerate development and demonstrate readiness to produce the next generation of tactical missile systems.

"The Raytheon/Northrop Grumman team is quickly developing air-breathing hypersonic weapons to keep our nation ahead of the threat," said Dr. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president. "This agreement combines Raytheon's decades of tactical missile expertise with Northrop Grumman's extensive scramjet engine development experience to produce the best possible weapons."

Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are working under a $200 million Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, program contract to deliver an affordable, effective and producible cruise missile for DARPA and the U.S. Air Force.