USAF personnel use a Ludwieg tube to measure pressures, temperatures and flow fields of basic geometric and hypersonic research vehicles. Credit: Joshua Armstrong/ US Air Force/US Department of Defense.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has selected four universities to conduct applied research in support of advanced hypersonic technology.

The awardees include the University of Virginia (UVA), Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), and Florida International University (FIU).

Go deeper with GlobalData

Go deeper with GlobalData

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

All four universities have each received $500,000 for conducting one year of research.

This research is being carried out as part of the DoD’s University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH), which is funded by the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office (JHTO).

Under the latest award, TEES will develop navigation systems to maintain the stability of the feedback control system in hypersonic vehicles.

Applying the multi-physics modelling approaches, TEES’ researchers will identify and characterise the drift of navigation sensors working in degraded environments.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

TEES will conduct this research in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M University (TAMU), Ohio State University (OSU), Sandia National Laboratories, University of Michigan, and Boeing.

The work undertaken by UVA involves developing a scramjet system improvement to allow hypersonic vehicles to operate in various flight conditions.

This research will be supported by the University of South Wales, OSU, University of Arizona, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), FGC Plasma Solutions, and Lockheed Martin.

The team will investigate parameters enabling nanosecond discharge to improve ignition and stabilise flame holding at a high Mach number range.

The UAH’s work includes designing and developing concepts and technologies to support hypersonic vehicles in attaining accurate velocities and altitudes for missions.

The associated experiments will be conducted at UAH Propulsion Research Centre, in partnership with CFD Research. 

Meanwhile, FIU will be responsible for presenting a solution to monitor the health and status of hypersonic aeroshells.

It will be supported by the University of Rhode Island, and Raytheon Technologies Research Centre.

Airforce Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Airforce Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.


Excellence in Action
Discover how Virtualitics is transforming mission readiness with explainable AI, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision intelligence across the U.S. Department of Defense through its AI-powered Integrated Readiness Optimization suite, for which it has won the Innovation and Business Expansion awards.

Discover the Impact