DOD Funds an Academic Consortium of Hypersonic Researchers to Outdo China
The field is so new that it needs experts from many fields to learn to work together.
By Patrick Tucker
Technology Editor
October 26, 2020 08:37 PM ET
Missiles
Building hypersonic weapons in 2020 is a bit like building computers in the 1950s. One day, it will be its own specific field — but today it requires finding and convening experts from multiple discrete disciplines. Defense Department leaders hope they can accelerate this process by funding a new academic consortium led by Texas A&M University. The contract award is $20 million annually for five years.
China has already begun to establish multidisciplinary university programs that bring together students in, say, materials development or aerodynamics to design and test new hypersonics designs.
“As a student, you could be exposed to every aspect of hypersonic vehicle design†in China, said Gillian Bussey, the director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office, in a Monday call with reporters. “Some of these universities are actually designing and flying vehicles. I have to think that’s done amazing things for their workforce and may be part of the reason they’ve had a lot of their success with their programs.â€
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/10/dod-launches-hypersonics-research-university-push-catch-china/169569/
