The US Air Force might be veering toward a future of air-breathing hypersonic system after awarding a $334 million contract to Virginia-based tech company Leidos, according to a press release.
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390399 01: The First X-43A Hypersonic Research Aircraft And Its Modified Pegasus Booster Rocket Are Carried Aloft By Nasa's Nb-52B Carrier Aircraft June 2, 2001 At Dryden Flight Research Center At Edwards Air Force Base, California, About An Hour And 15 Minutes Later The Pegasus Booster Was Released From The B-52 To Accelerate The X-43A To Its Intended Speed Of Mach 7.
All About the Mayhem
Mayhem, also known as the Expendable Hypersonic Multi-mission ISR and Strike program, will be operating for 51 months.
According to Leidos, the initial task order has a cost of $24 million to complete the System Requirements Review (SRR) and Conceptual Design Review (CoDR) in a Digital Engineering (DE) setting.
Leidos' Dynetics President Steve Cook said that the company will draw on its years of experience, expertise, and success in the hypersonic industry to create the next generation of air-breathing hypersonic systems. He claims that their team is ready to take on such a crucial mission for the US.
The vehicle will travel over enormous distances at speeds greater than Mach 5 thanks to the Mayhem system's scramjet engine. To ensure that the design efforts aid future development and transition, Leidos claims that it is charged with creating a large-class version that outperforms existing air-breathing systems in range and cargo capacity.
Mayhem's System Design Agent
To act as the System Design Agent (SDA), Leidos has put together a group of leaders from the business and academic fields, including Calspan, Draper, and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
The SDA will establish partnerships between government, business, and academia to provide the necessary research and development for design and put together a production-ready technical data bundle to create prototypes.
"We're working with the nation's top solution providers in hypersonic vehicle and propulsion technologies. We're proud to contribute to this important national security mission," Mayhem program manager Ryan Leo said in a press release statement.
Leidos was chosen after taking into account six offers, according to the US Department of Defense's procurement notice, however, it was not specified from whom the other offers came from. A $334 million contract has been given to Leidos for the Mayhem program's research and development.
Leidos is considered a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science company offering innovative solutions mainly for defense, intelligence, and the health sector.
The tech company has around 44,000 employees that provide services for government and commercial clients. Its headquarters are located in Reston, Virginia, and has earned an annual income of around $13.7 billion last year.
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