The Arnold Engineering Development Center’s Tunnel 9 facility in White Oak, Md., recently completed the mission-critical testing of the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 1—a joint Air Force and DARPA program that is developing and demonstrating hypersonic technology. The capability envisioned involves a reusable Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle capable of delivering 12,000 pounds of payload up to 9,000 nautical miles in less than two hours. AEDC engineers completed more than 30 successful runs with the HTV-1 model, simulating speeds of Mach 10 and 14.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.