Stratolaunch, U.S. Air Force Research Lab Announce Contract

The agreement between the company behind the aircraft with the world's largest wingspan and the R&D arm of the Air Force calls for the first flight test of a hypersonic test vehicle.

Kimberly Johnson

Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 04:17 PM ET

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Stratolaunch’s Roc, the world’s largest airplane by wingspan, now includes a new pylon on its center wing. [Courtesy: Stratolaunch]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has contracted Stratolaunch to support the first flight test of a hypersonic test vehicle.
The test will involve Stratolaunch’s Roc, the world's largest aircraft, launching its reusable Talon-A (TA-3) hypersonic test vehicle.
Stratolaunch's reusable approach aims to increase the cadence of hypersonic testing while reducing development cost, schedule, and risk.

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The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has entered into a contract with Stratolaunch, the company behind the aircraft with the world’s largest wingspan, to support the first flight test of a hypersonic test vehicle.

The test will involve Stratolaunch’s second reusable Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle, TA-3, which will be launched by Roc, the world’s largest aircraft. The Talon-A vehicles are rocket powered and able to fly a variety of hypersonic flight profiles while carrying payload experiments on board, the company said.