Defense technology company Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has secured a contract worth up to $1.45 billion from the Pentagon under the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0 program. This significant deal, the largest in Kratos' history, spans a five-year performance period if all options are exercised.
The MACH-TB initiative aims to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with increased hypersonic testing capabilities. Kratos will lead efforts in systems engineering, integration, and testing, with specific responsibilities including subscale, full-scale, and air launch services designed to boost hypersonic flight test frequencies.
“This programmatic milestone underscores our unwavering commitment to rapidly developing affordable, mission-critical solutions that meet the evolving needs of the warfighter,” said Eric DeMarco, Kratos’ CEO.
Kratos will collaborate with partners such as Leidos and Rocket Lab to achieve MACH-TB’s objectives. The award builds on Kratos' previous work in hypersonic technology, including a successful flight of its Erinyes hypersonic test vehicle for the Missile Defense Agency last year. The company plans to integrate Erinyes and other systems into the MACH-TB effort.
The MACH-TB program, initially spearheaded by the US Navy, seeks to address long-standing concerns about limited hypersonic testing infrastructure in the United States. The testbeds developed under this program are expected to evaluate the performance of critical subsystems at speeds exceeding Mach 5.
The US continues to invest in hypersonic technologies to keep pace with adversaries such as Russia and China, who have already fielded operational hypersonic weapons. Recent successes in US Army-Navy joint missile tests and Air Force programs suggest progress is being made in closing the gap.