ATLANTA, Ga. The U.S. Air Force is investing in the Hermeus Corporation, a United States-based aerospace company, via a $60 million jointly funded contract intended to accelerate the development of hypersonic aircraft and propulsion systems.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. The U.S. Air Force conducted its second AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster flight test. Officials claim that it did not meet all flight objectives, but that the test did demonstrate several first-time events as the program continues to track toward fielding a hypersonic capability in the early 2020s.

BOISE, Idaho. Counter-unmanned aerial system (CUAS) company Black Sage has won a $950 million ceiling, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract with the U.S. Air Force for the maturation, demonstration, and proliferation of capability across platforms and domains.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Raytheon Technologies -- Intelligence and Space Division -- was awarded a contract worth as much as $3.12 billion to build upgraded radar systems for advanced versions of the F-15 Eagle jet fighter, according to an announcement from the F-15 Division Contracts Branch, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio). 

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Collins Aerospace (a unit of Raytheon Technologies) has been tasked by the U.S. Air Force with developing two software-defined radios (SDRs) that will connect and transmit airborne and ground radio data for the first time using a multinode network. The contracts are worth up to $21 million for the company.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. The 96th Test Wing took part in a series of flight tests using a 19-foot unmanned aircraft launched from Tyndall Air Force Base from April 29 to May 5. Inside the aircraft, the Autonomy Core System (ACS), identified as the “brain” of the autonomous aircraft, made its first three flights for the Autonomous Attritable Aircraft Experiment.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. Teams within the Force Protection and Special Programs Divisions supplied and integrated the 325th Security Forces Squadron with four prototype Quad-legged Unmanned Ground Vehicles, sometimes referred to as ‘robotic dogs’. They are semi-autonomous robots that can provide surveillance and perimeter security in difficult terrain or in harsh or unsafe conditions.