Two recently conducted revolutionary hypersonic tests highlighted a Northrop Grumman technology aimed at enabling high-speed systems to steer and maneuver without relying on GPS.
The firm informed Defense News earlier this week that their inertial measurement unit, known as IMU, was present aboard Stratolaunch’s Talon-A glide vehicle during its test flight.
The first two hypersonic flights occurred in December and March.
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According to Jonathan Green, who serves as the chief technology officer for emerging capabilities development at Northrop, successfully showcasing IMU tech on a hypersonic plane—which can fly and navigate at velocities exceeding Mach 5—is unprecedented in the industry.
“We achieved all of our objectives… and the survival of this prototype through its initial flight test is truly encouraging for the advancement and refinement of this technology,” he stated during an interview.
This week, the Pentagon revealed details of the Talon-A tests, signaling the
initial successful flights of a reusable aircraft capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds
Since the conclusion of the X-15 program in 1968, the U.S. has recently boosted its funding for advanced weapons systems and aircraft. Stratolaunch’s testing platform exemplifies this shift towards innovation in high-speed technology.
increased impetus to generate testing chances
for the components and subsystems needed to support major hypersonic development efforts.
Northrop’s Advanced Hypersonic Technology IMU is designed to allow high-speed systems to navigate without GPS – a capability that could be disrupted by adverse weather, difficult terrain or enemy jamming and spoofing.
By employing sophisticated sensors to gauge the movement of a platform within its surroundings, the IMU determines the distance covered by the system and identifies the route required to maintain its course. As stated by Josei Chang, who serves as the senior director for advanced technologies at Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, the equipment functioned according to plan during the test flights and precisely computed the craft’s trajectory.
While Northrop has developed IMUs for spacecraft, this version is a smaller, more rugged system, repackaged to fit on an air vehicle and designed to survive the harsh conditions of Mach 5 flight.
“What we have done within Northrop Grumman is to develop an inertial navigation technology that really started from our lineage in space-based inertial navigation,” Green said. “We took that capability, that portfolio of technology, and enhanced it.”
Hypersonic flights mark a major advancement for the system, despite being in the research and development stage.
A summary for a forthcoming navigation symposium
Northrop is advancing IMU technology alongside the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Systems Center, though the firm refused to verify if they have any official development collaborators or agreements.
Northrop intends to conduct IMU tests on a sounding rocket during this quarter and is considering another trial later this year at the Holloman Air Force Base in Utah. This particular test aims to assess the performance of the system under conditions involving high G-forces.
The firm is diligently monitoring Talon-A’s testing timeline; however, Green did not verify if the IMU will feature on Stratolaunch’s upcoming mission planned for later this spring or summer.
The collaboration we established with Stratolaunch to deploy and validate the system has been utterly essential,” he stated. “This underscores the significance of testing such systems and having access to the necessary resources for those tests.
